Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said Tuesday that she understands that Hong Kong resident Chen Tongjia, who is suspected of killing a man in Taiwan, is willing to go to Taiwan to surrender, and is only waiting for the right time.
Mrs. Lam made the remarks while taking questions from reporters before her weekly Executive Council meeting that morning.
She said Chen Tongjia has served his full sentence in Hong Kong and he is no longer considered a criminal in Hong Kong. There is no agreement between the Hong Kong and Taiwan jurisdictions on the surrender of the fugitive, and there is no legal basis for the Hong Kong government to ask him to do anything. Mrs. Lam said she was getting the latest news about Chen through his supportive pastor, Kwan Ho-ming, and learned that Chen had a sense of blame and self-recrimination and was willing to take legal responsibility and surrender to Taiwan.
She said that if the political situation and the epidemic permit, Chen Tongjia will come to Taiwan in due time to surrender himself and be dealt with by the Taiwan authorities. Mrs. Lam said the issue of Chen’s travel to Taiwan can be handled with the help of people who are interested, such as Guan Haoming, and the Hong Kong government will provide assistance. Kwan Ho-ming is currently secretary-general of the Anglican Province of Hong Kong and is considered to have close ties to mainland China.
Chen Tongjia is suspected of killing his girlfriend, Pan Xiaoying, who was traveling to Taiwan with him on February 17, 2018. He fled to Hong Kong after committing the crime and was released from prison on October 23, 2019, after serving time in Hong Kong for his involvement in a money laundering case. After his release from prison, Chen Tongjia expressed his willingness to turn himself in to Taiwan in connection with the murder of Pan Xiaoying, and Guan Haoming also expressed his willingness to accompany Chen Tongjia to Taiwan.
Chen Tongjia’s case prompted the Hong Kong government to push for an amendment to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance in February last year, saying the purpose of the amendment was to close a judicial loophole and prevent Hong Kong from becoming a “fugitive’s paradise. Many Hong Kong people believe that the amendments were made at the behest of the Beijing government. Once the law is amended, Chinese and foreigners in Hong Kong could be transferred to mainland China, where there is no independent judiciary, to stand trial for “violating Chinese law. Beginning on June 9, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Hong Kong people responded to online appeals with rallies and demonstrations demanding that the Hong Kong government withdraw the amendment, sparking an “anti-sentinel” campaign that lasted for months. As a result, the situation in Hong Kong has changed dramatically.
On June 30 of this year, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) passed the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law, which was incorporated into Annex III of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in the form of a national law on the same day, and promulgated for implementation in the HKSAR. The Chinese government’s move caused a strong backlash from the international community. Critics argue that the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law will destroy Hong Kong’s well-established judicial system and deprive the people of Hong Kong of their freedom of speech.
In response to the passage and implementation of the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law, the U.S. Congress passed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act on July 14, 2020. Under Executive Order 13936 issued by President Trump on July 14, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned 11 individuals for undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy and restricting Hong Kong citizens’ freedom of speech or assembly, with Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam topping the list.
The issue of Chen Tongjia’s visit to Taiwan is considered to be complicated by political factors. According to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, Hong Kong and Taiwan failed to agree on Chen’s surrender procedures in January, which delayed his trip.
Local media in Taiwan quoted Pan Xiaoying’s mother as saying on Monday that she urged Chen Tongjia to fulfill his promise to surrender to Taiwan as soon as possible.
On the other hand, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on the same occasion on Tuesday that there was no legal basis for Hong Kong to repatriate the 12 Hong Kong people detained by mainland China. The 12 Hong Kong people are being held at the Yantian Detention Center in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, where they will have to face legal action.
On the other hand, the families of the detained Hong Kong people have accused mainland China of failing to provide “sunshine justice,” and the 12 have been denied access to lawyers hired for them by their families and forced to have their lawyers appointed by the authorities.
Mrs. Lam said the Hong Kong government and mainland authorities are currently handling the detention of the 12 people according to the mutual communication mechanism that has been in place, adding that since there is no extradition agreement between the two places, they can only use the existing communication mechanism.
According to the existing communication mechanism, the Chinese mainland authorities will notify the Hong Kong side after detaining the Hong Kong people, and if they want to repatriate them in the future, they will do so through the same communication mechanism. So far, more than 2,000 Hong Kong people have been notified or repatriated through this communication mechanism between the two places.
Chinese police said the 12 people are suspected of crossing the border illegally. The Chinese Foreign Ministry called them “separatists. China’s legal system is controlled by the ruling Communist Party, and there is no independent judiciary.
But according to Hong Kong media, there were 12 demonstrators on board the ship, including Hong Kong Story member Lee Yu-hsien, who had previously been arrested for violating Hong Kong’s version of the National Security Law, who had been involved in an “anti-sending China” protest. Media reported that they had planned to go to Taiwan.
The Chinese Coast Guard seized a speedboat suspected of “illegal” border crossing in the southeastern waters of Hong Kong on August 23. The Shenzhen Public Security Bureau’s Yantian Branch reported on September 13 that the 12 “illegal border-crossers,” suspected of “criminal border-crossing,” had been detained in accordance with the law.
According to Chinese law, “illegal border-crossing” is a serious crime punishable by up to one year of imprisonment, detention or control, and a fine. There were rumors that 12 Hong Kong people were suspected of “organizing others to cross the border,” a crime punishable by more than seven years or life imprisonment.
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