Hong Kong Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung has urged Taiwanese authorities to “tackle the matter with common sense” after the self-governing island suggested it wouldn’t simply accept the surrender of a murder suspect whose case sparked the extradition bill controversy and months of anti-government protests.
Cheung, who is filling in for Chief Executive Carrie Lam while she is in Tokyo to attend the enthronement ceremony for Emperor Naruhito today, spoke to reporters ahead of the weekly executive council meeting this morning.
“I really appeal to the Taiwanese authorities to tackle the matter with common sense, with compassion,” Cheung said, adding that the suspect is still wanted by the Taiwanese authorities for murder, that the island’s statute of limitations is valid for 30 years, and that it was inconceivable for Taiwan to refuse to take in a man wanted by its law enforcement agencies.
“We’re talking about somebody who’s willing to surrender himself and get back to Taiwan to face trial, and also to ensure justice is done.”
The case in question is that of Chan Tong-kai, who has admitted to murdering his girlfriend while on holiday in Taiwan last year. Chan fled back to Hong Kong, where he was arrested and later convicted on money laundering charges, but local authorities have maintained they don’t have jurisdiction to try Chan for murder.
The case prompted Hong Kong, which does not have an extradition agreement with Taiwan, to propose amending its extradition laws in such a way that would have also enabled extraditions to the mainland, sparking widespread fears and setting off massive and increasingly violent protests, now in their 20th week.
Chan is expected to be released tomorrow owing to allowances for good behavior and time served ahead of his conviction, prompting Taiwan to urge Hong Kong to hold him in custody and to reconsider its decision not to try him for murder. However, local media revealed on Friday that Chan has offered to hand himself over to the Taiwanese authorities.
The revelation would have appeared to put a bow on the saga of a murder case that ultimately plunged Hong Kong into its worst political crisis in decades, but Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council on Sunday officially rejected Chan’s offer to surrender, saying they would refuse to grant him entry until Hong Kong complied with judicial procedures, the SCMP reported.
“If the Hong Kong government is to send the suspect Chan to Taiwan to surrender, the arrangements must go through the process of mutual judicial cooperation and the Hong Kong side must provide all relevant evidence gathered in Hong Kong to facilitate investigation of the case [in Taiwan],” the council said in its statement.
In response to the development, Cheung today urged Taiwanese authorities not to “complicate a simple issue, and also don’t use politics, really, do not try to exploit politics to achieve a certain gain at the expense, particularly, of justice.”
Asked by a reporter what the SAR government will do if Chan changes his mind about surrendering, Cheung said he believed Chan genuinely wanted to make things right and had suggested as much in a letter to Lam.
“The Department of Justice and Security Bureau have examined thoroughly all possible options, and in fact, that’s the best option available at the moment because the gentleman concerned is willing to go back to Taiwan of his free will, and it’s a win-win situation for everybody.”
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