Hong Kong protests: murder suspect at centre of extradition bill crisis ‘still committed to Taiwan surrender’, Carrie Lam says

Carrie Lam says her understanding is that Chan Tong-kai will submit to Taiwanese justice once political, pandemic landscape allows

Withdrawal of extradition bill, the spark of anti-government unrest, means we do not have the power to act in Chan’s and other cases, she says

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Chan Tong-kai, who is living in Hong Kong, is wanted for murder in Taiwan. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 4:43pm, 22 Sep 2020Updated: 10:44pm, 22 Sep 2020

Hong Kong’s leader says she believes the murder suspect who triggered the extradition bill crisis remains committed to facing justice in Taiwan when the political climate and the coronavirus crisis allow it.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Tuesday she was receiving updates on Chan Tong-kai – the Hongkonger wanted on the self-ruled island for the 2018 killing of his 19-year-old pregnant girlfriend Poon Hiu-wing in Taipei – through the priest who had been supporting him.

“What I gathered to this day is that the situation remains the same, that is, provided the political climate, pandemic and the exchanges of people between the two places allow, Chan is still willing to go back to Taiwan to face criminal sanctions,” Lam told her weekly press briefing.

But she also said there was little she could do because Chan was no longer considered a criminal in the city and there was no agreement between the two jurisdictions over transferring fugitives.

The fate of Chan, who is staying in a Hong Kong safe house, returned to the spotlight this week when the victim’s mother broke her silence to urge Chan to fulfil his promise to hand himself over to the Taiwan authorities.

He pledged to travel back to Taiwan after his release in October last year from a Hong Kong prison, where he served 19 months on money-laundering charges related to Poon’s killing. The city’s courts could not try him for the murder because it fell outside their jurisdiction.

Chan’s case was held up by the Hong Kong leader as a key justification for her now-withdrawn extradition bill, which last year ignited months of anti-government protests across the city and a political tussle with Taiwan.

The legislation, if passed, would have allowed the transfer of fugitives to jurisdictions, such as Taiwan and mainland China, with which Hong Kong had no extradition deal.