Mainland Affairs Council
Date: October 22, 2019
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-Cheng, Ministry of the Interior Deputy Minister Chen Tsung-yen, and Ministry of Justice Deputy Minister Chang Tou-Hui, held a joint press conference at 5 pm today (October 22, 2019) to explain the government's position and related information on the case involving the murder of a Hong Kong woman by suspect Chan Tong-kai, as follows:
1. The MAC issued a press release yesterday (October 21, 2019) calling on the Hong Kong government to promptly arrange talks for the competent authorities on both sides to discuss how to establish a mechanism for mutual judicial assistance to handle the case effectively and to tackle the problem from its root.
2. Taiwan's Ministry of Justice proposed three principles at the press conference yesterday, including: Taiwan and Hong Kong both have jurisdiction over this case, but on the account of trial convenience, the Hong Kong government should have priority in conducting the trial. Taiwan government will handle the case through formal mutual judicial assistance, “rejecting” is simply not the case. Taiwan government has not relinquished jurisdiction over the case and will not shirk responsibility. The ministry also made two proposals, stating that Taiwan is willing to provide relevant evidence for the trial in Hong Kong; and that the Hong Kong court should make a formal ruling on whether the Hong Kong government has jurisdiction over the case.
3. However, according to the public statement by Hong Kong’s Security Bureau last night, the Hong Kong authority is still reluctant to handle this case. Regrettably, it also has not positively responded to Taiwan's suggestion to establish a mechanism for judicial mutual assistance between the two sides.
4. After failing to receive a positive response from Hong Kong, Taiwan sent a formal letter to the Hong Kong authority through existing channels between the two sides so that justice could be served and the case could be pragmatically handled. The letter stated the following:
(1) We hope that Hong Kong will comply with its earlier public pledge and assist Taiwan according to the request of the judicial cooperation in criminal matters we proposed on March 16 and April 26, 2018. We also hope that Hong Kong will provide relevant case files and evidence, such as the confession statement and the testimony for the Taiwanese personnel to bring back.
(2) Given the concerns of the suspect fleeing the region or destroying the evidence as he has been accused of felony, we hope that Hong Kong will assist the Taiwanese personnel with the confirmation of the suspect's identity and the escort, so he won’t be able to walk free.
5. Since the murder of the Hong Kong woman, the ROC government has been consistent and clear in our position of upholding justice and promptly bringing justice to the victim's family. And we believe this is in line with the expectations of the people in Taiwan and Hong Kong. We hope that the Hong Kong authority can not only swiftly respond to our request of sending prosecutors and police officers to Hong Kong to bring back the suspect and evidence, but also provide related assistance so that the case can be satisfactorily resolved, and therefore meet the expectations from all sides.