Taiwan rebuts Hong Kong’s claims it is hindering surrender of murder suspect whose case sparked extradition bill crisis and mass protests

TAIPEI, Oct 26, 2019, SCMP. Taiwan has rebutted Hong Kong government’s claims it was hindering the surrender of the murder suspect whose case sparked the extradition bill crisis, and urged the city administration to take real action instead of bickering over the matter, reported the South China Morning Post.

The rebuttal came soon after the Hong Kong government issued a statement on Friday evening asking Taiwan to clear the hurdles for Chan Tong-kai’s surrender to authorities on the self-ruled island.
In response, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said they were not to blame for causing the impasse.

“The key issues in the case are the sense of responsibility of the Hong Kong government and the genuine willingness of the suspect [to return]. The Hong Kong government does not need to say so much, it just needs to take actions,” the council said in a statement on Saturday.

Taiwanese Premier Su Tseng-chang also said on Saturday morning Chan would be arrested “immediately” upon his arrival in their territory.

“Hong Kong is the one that keeps shifting, by first releasing the suspect, then disagreeing with mutual legal assistance between us, and ignoring our request,” Su said.

Taiwan Interior Minister Hsu Kuo-yung said: “Chan can come tomorrow if he is willing to … allowing a murderer to wander around freely is just not good.”

But under Hong Kong’s Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance, the city cannot make such arrangements with “any other part of the People’s Republic of China”, and Beijing considers self-ruled Taiwan to be a renegade province.

The Hong Kong government in the latest statement accused Taiwan of being irresponsible in questioning Chan’s motives to turn himself in, and unnecessarily politicising the case, and said it was the suspect’s own decision to surrender and the administration could not force him to do so.

“This has nothing to do with the so-called ‘political manoeuvring’,” it said.

“Chan is a remorseful young man and he is willing to face his guilt. Taiwan should handle the case pragmatically to allow him to have a fair trial and give him an opportunity for redemption.”

Regarding when Chan would voluntarily surrender, the Hong Kong government claimed that since Chan felt there had been different legal views and comments surrounding his case, he would consolidate opinions and consult legal representatives to ensure he faced a fair trial in Taiwan.

Reverend Canon Peter Koon Ho-ming of the Anglican Church, who is helping the 20-year-old, said Chan would not be flying to Taiwan over the weekend.

Chan is wanted in Taiwan for the murder of his pregnant girlfriend Poon Hiu-wing, 20, in February last year while they were there on holiday. He was released from Pik Uk Correctional Institution in Clear Water Bay on Wednesday after spending 19 months in custody on money-laundering charges relating to the handling of Poon’s property.

Just before Chan’s release, the Hong Kong government was told he wished to turn himself in to Taiwanese authorities. It then contacted Taipei to arrange Chan’s surrender, but the two sides failed to agree on how that should take place.

Hong Kong officials insisted Chan could freely surrender himself, but Taiwan said the city administration “should not allow the suspect to walk free to avoid destruction or tampering of evidence”.

Hong Kong justice secretary Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah said on Wednesday that Chan could have autonomy on what evidence he wanted to take to Taiwan, but Taipei reportedly remained firm that the city’s government needed to transfer key documents through official channels.

The row deepened on Friday when Su also accused the Kuomintang (KMT) of manipulating the surrender of Chan, and raised concerns about Koon’s role in the whole affair.

Su said it was suspicious that Koon – a member of the Beijing municipal committee of the mainland’s top advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) – had contacted a Taipei-based law firm whose partner has close links with KMT’s ex-president Ma Ying-jeou.

Koon dismissed the suggestion there was any link between Chan’s decision to surrender and the Beijing-friendly KMT, and said he visited Chan about six months ago of his own volition.

Chan’s case triggered the city’s biggest crisis in decades as Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor used it to push through her now-withdrawn extradition bill, arguing the legislation was needed to plug the legal loophole that prevented Hong Kong from sending him back to Taiwan to face justice.

The extradition bill would have allowed the transfer of criminal suspects from Hong Kong to other jurisdictions, including mainland China.

The bill has sparked mass protests and violent clashes between demonstrators and police since June, forcing Lam to announce its withdrawal in September.