While Taiwan looks to Hong Kong as a cautionary tale of ‘one country, two systems,’ its own lack of a refugee law is coming under scrutiny.
The News Lens
Date: 2019/05/11
By: Daphne K. Lee
Credit: AP / TPG
During a 2018 trip to Taipei, Chan Tong-kai, 20, strangled his pregnant girlfriend to death. He then stuffed her body into a pink suitcase, carried it through a 40-minute metro ride, and abandoned it outside of the Zhuwei MRT station, located in the outskirts of Taipei.
Chan, who has admitted to killing his girlfriend, was later arrested and sentenced in Hong Kong – not on the charge of murder, but on money laundering. Since the alleged murder was committed in Taiwan, Hong Kong authorities were only able to charge Chan for using his girlfriend’s debit card and stealing her other possessions.
One year later, the unresolved murder case has sparked a heated debate over Hong Kong’s new extradition bill, and a massive protest on April 28.
proposed extradition bill with China in Hong Kong on April 28, 2019.
What’s the extradition law controversy about, and why does it matter to Taiwan?
The proposed amendments to the extradition law in Hong Kong have induced public fears with the possibility that Hong Kong residents can be deported to China to face unfair trials. Taiwanese nationals who’re traveling to Hong Kong could also be at risk, allegedly, if the amendments were passed. [FULL STORY]
