A murder suspect whose case indirectly led to Hong Kong’s ongoing protests was freed from prison on Wednesday and told reporters he was willing to surrender to authorities in Taiwan, where he is wanted for killing his girlfriend. He could not be sent to Taiwan because the semiautonomous Chinese city of Hong Kong has no extradition agreement with self-ruled Taiwan. In the days leading up to his release, Hong Kong and Taiwan feuded over his case after Lam said Chan had offered to return voluntarily to Taiwan. Taiwan objected to allowing him the freedom to travel and instead offered to send a team to escort him back, but Hong Kong’s government refused, saying Taiwanese officers could not enforce the law in Hong Kong. AdvertisementTaiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said Wednesday that allowing a murder suspect to fly on his own would ignore the safety of other passengers and that Hong Kong’s approach makes Hong Kong “a criminal paradise where murderers can walk around.”Chan, 20, returned to Hong Kong alone last year after traveling to Taipei with his pregnant girlfriend, Poon Hiu-wing.

Source: Los Angeles Times October 23, 2019 05:26 UTC