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Let Chen Tongjia go to Taiwan for trial and bear the consequences as soon as possible

2020-10-06T23:41:49.646Z


In October last year, Taiwanese murder suspect Chen Tongjia said he was willing to surrender to Taiwan to serve his sentence; a year later, things are still stalemate. This is not because the parties retorted, but because the governments of Taiwan and Hong Kong fought back and forth, using cases to stage political affairs.


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Written by: Commentary Editing Room

2020-10-07 07:30

Last update date: 2020-10-07 07:30

In October last year, Taiwanese murder suspect Chen Tongjia said he was willing to surrender to Taiwan to serve his sentence; a year later, things are still stalemate.

This was not because the parties retorted, but because the governments of Taiwan and Hong Kong fought back and forth, using the case to stage political riots.

The governments of the two places had no intention of ending the turmoil. Not only were they unable to uphold justice for the deceased and their families, they also made Chen Tongjia bear the legal consequences indefinitely.

Murder is a serious crime, but the murderer should also have a chance to rehabilitate.

Chen Tongjia, who is suspected of killing people in Taiwan, should undergo a fair trial, accept judicial sanctions, and bear the consequences.

In October last year, Chen Tongjia was released from prison on the money laundering case. He also expressed interest in going to Taiwan and served his sentence in the murder case of his girlfriend.

For Chen Tongjia, an early trial and sentence is a better choice.

He can only stay in the police safe house in Hong Kong. Coupled with his suspected murder background, I believe that the public will find it difficult to accept him for a period of time. It is as simple as working and making friends is also very difficult.

If he goes to Taiwan to plead guilty and the deceased Pan Xiaoying's mother is willing to intercede, the court will not have a good chance of sentenced him to death.

For Pan Mu, the verdict is a way to end the case and relieve her.

Unfortunately, one year has passed and no progress has been made in the case.

The Fugitive Offenders Ordinance has been withdrawn. The Taiwan and Hong Kong governments should take advantage of the turmoil of the amendments to subside this year. The two sides did not seize the opportunity to effectively resolve the above obstacles.

As a result, the mother of the deceased Pan Xiaoying was in a hurry, while Chen Tongjia wasted her time and no one benefited.

Taiwan and Hong Kong should close the case pragmatically as soon as possible

Last year, the Hong Kong government refused to send Taiwan police officers to Hong Kong to accompany Chen Tongjia to Taiwan, saying it would not accept cross-border law enforcement. This year and last year, the Taiwan government called Chen Tongjia a wanted criminal and twice refused him to arrive as a general tourist.

However, the police in the two places have cooperated in the transfer of suspects in the past.

In the 2016 sarcophagus corpse case, the Taiwan police and the Hong Kong police were on the same plane with the Hong Kong suspect. After the plane returned to Hong Kong, the Hong Kong police arrested the suspect.

If there was a precedent four years ago, why can't it be used this time?

In Taiwan, the Supervisory Council submitted an investigation report a few days ago, mentioning that the Hong Kong government has sent letters to Taiwan's prosecutors in charge of the case four times, but Taiwan believes that this is only an "informal" mutual legal assistance.

In addition, the two parties did not agree on a mutually recognized communication channel. The Taiwan side insisted that the Hong Kong side submit a request for a mutual legal assistance agreement and use a single contact window. The Hong Kong government said that it would be handled on the platform of the Council for the Advancement of Policy and the Association.

The core of the dispute is that this window channel is regarded as a declaration of judicial sovereignty, and the Hong Kong government cannot accept the meaning behind this.

It is these political symbols and measures that hinder the progress of the case.

The governments of the two places need to have mutually recognized departments and rules to handle the scope of document transmission, evidence collection, transfer, and visits.

In fact, if the request is only directed to the Chen Tongjia case, the two parties can negotiate without sovereignty disputes.

In 2009, the ARATS and the SEF signed the "Agreement on Joint Combating Crimes and Mutual Legal Assistance across the Taiwan Straits". In the past ten years, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have made more than 100,000 mutual requests, and there have been examples of mutual repatriation (including murderers).

The fact that the two sides of the strait can conclude an agreement based on facts proves that cracking down on cross-border crimes can overcome political disputes such as sovereignty.

As long as the Hong Kong and Taiwan governments put aside their political calculations, they can certainly end the case as soon as possible.

The politicization of the Chen Tongjia case is Tsai Ing-wen’s "judicial justice"?

[Fleeing Offenders Ordinance] The government still has to seek justice for the families of the Taiwan case

Chen Tongjia Taiwan Fugitive Offenders Ordinance

Source: hk1

All news articles on 2020-10-06

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