Taiwan is offering to send prosecutors to Hong Kong to pick up a murder suspect who has admitted to killing his girlfriend in Taiwan. The suspect -- Chan Tong-kai – has recently agreed to come to Taiwan to face trial.
Taiwan on Monday banned Chan from entering the country, saying that his sudden decision to turn himself over to Taiwanese authorities was an act of coercion and a political ploy. They said the Hong Kong government used the case to push a controversial extradition bill, which has sparked months of protests in Hong Kong. The government of Hong Kong has since dropped the bill.
President Tsai has come under fire from the opposition KMT in the last several days. They say that by denying Chan’s entry, she was surrendering Taiwan’s jurisdiction over the case.
Tsai says that because the suspect and victim are both from Hong Kong, the government there has jurisdiction as well. However, authorities in Hong Kong have been unwilling to pursue the case. They were set to release Chan from prison on Wednesday after he finishes serving a sentence for a related crime.
Tsai also said that Taiwan had requested mutual legal assistance from Hong Kong on multiple occasions, but that Hong Kong authorities ignored those requests.