Hong Kong, Taiwan Continue Duel Over Murder Suspect

The Secretary for Security, John Lee, accused Taiwan on Wednesday of being irresponsible and violating justice by obstructing wanted murder suspect Chan Tong-kai from surrendering himself to the island.

This comes after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said Chan could only be arrested, but couldn’t surrender himself.

Speaking to reporters at the Legislative Council, Lee said it’s irresponsible for Taiwan to keep changing its position.

“The surrender case can be settled easily, but Taiwanese authorities are obstructing it out of political considerations. They’re even trying to shift the blame to the Hong Kong government.”

“They restricted Chan from going to Taiwan. They asked the Hong Kong government to illegally detain him after his release. They even suggest sending its officers to the SAR to take him back to Taiwan. It’s completely unacceptable and an utter disrespect for Hong Kong’s jurisdiction,” he said.

“Chan Tong-kai is a free man now he's released. He can choose whoever he wants to accompany him to Taiwan,” he said.

He urged the Taiwanese government to shoulder its judicial responsibility, adding that it will be wholly to blame if justice can’t be served over the case.

However, speaking in Kinmen on Wednesday morning, Tsai said everything her government is doing now is aimed at upholding justice and Taiwan's sovereignty.

She insisted Hong Kong has jurisdiction over the murder case since both the suspect and the victim are Hongkongers.

Meanwhile, an Anglican church leader, Peter Koon, said he originally planned to fly to Taiwan with Chan on Wednesday morning but cancelled the flight tickets as they had been restricted by Taiwanese authorities from going there.

Koon, who convinced Chan to surrender himself over the case, urged the Taiwanese government not to scare Chan, adding that he didn’t want to see Chan becoming a political pawn.

He said Chan would stay in Hong Kong with his family for at least a few days before deciding the way forward.

He reiterated that Chan was not forced to surrender himself but hoped to receive a fair trial in Taiwan.