A Hong Kong murder suspect, whose case led the government to attempt to pass an extradition bill last year that sparked massive protests, is expected to return to Taiwan this month to answer the charges of killing his girlfriend.
Chan Tong-kai (陳同佳), who is accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend, surnamed Poon, in Taiwan in February 2018 before fleeing back to Hong Kong, yesterday said his lawyer was arranging for his return to Taiwan.
The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office, which is in charge of the Chan case, said that it has not yet received any information on the suspect’s desire to turn himself in.
Mainland Affairs Council spokesman Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said it has not received any word on the case from the Hong Kong side.
However, a communications channel has been established between Taiwanese police authorities and their Hong Kong counterparts, and any information will come through there, Chiu said.
Chan yesterday also released an audio recording in which he again apologized to Poon’s parents.
The recording was broadcast by Television Broadcasts Ltd of Hong Kong. The audio recording was said to have been provided by Reverend Canon Peter Douglas Koon (管浩鳴) of the Hong Kong Anglican Church, who has been helping with issues related to Chan turning himself in.
When Chan returned to Hong Kong in 2018, he was charged with money laundering for taking Poon’s money and valuables, and served a prison sentence before being released in October last year.
Hong Kong authorities said he could not be sent to Taiwan because the territory has no extradition agreement with Taiwan.
Prior to his release, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) used Chan’s case as justification for proposing an extradition bill that would allow Hong Kong to extradite suspects to other countries and territories.
However, many Hong Kong residents opposed the move because it would also have allowed suspects to be sent to China to stand trial. The bill was later withdrawn.
Additional reporting by CNA
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard