A Hong Kong man wanted in Taiwan on suspicion of murder may turn himself in to Taiwanese authorities later this month. That’s according to a media report from Hong Kong.
Chan Tong-kai is suspected of killing his girlfriend on February 17, 2018 while the two were in Taiwan on vacation. Chan admitted to the murder upon returning to Hong Kong. However, Hong Kong authorities could not charge Chan with the murder because they do not have jurisdiction in Taiwan.
According to the report, Chan notified his lawyer in Taiwan that he now plans to turn himself in. However, Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau says that it has not received a case from Hong Kong authorities. It says that it must confirm that Chan is in Taiwan before it can move forward.
Taiwan’s top China policymaking body, the Mainland Affairs Council, also says that it has not received any news regarding Chan’s plans. However, it says the Criminal Investigation Bureau is in touch with its Hong Kong counterpart.
The murder set a chain of events in motion that ultimately led to the 2019 Hong Kong protests. Lawmakers in Hong Kong responded to the murder by proposing a law that would allow extradition to jurisdictions with which Hong Kong did not have extradition agreements.
These jurisdictions included Taiwan, but notably, also Mainland China. The bill caused widespread outrage, as protesters in Hong Kong believed that it would allow the Chinese government to request the arrest and extradition of dissidents.