Taiwan hopes for more formal crime-fighting measures with Hong Kong but city’s legal scholars see hurdles
Use of death penalty on island cited as just one obstacle despite recent bilateral cooperation over cement murder suspects
Taiwan authorities expressed hope over establishing a formal crime-fighting mechanism with Hong Kong following the recent transfer of three suspects in the body-in-cement murder case from the island to the city.
Legal scholars in Hong Kong, however, had differing views on how likely such a system could be implemented, while a well-placed Taiwan official told the Post that Hong Kong’s lukewarm response to the idea thus far was a far cry from the close relations the respective law enforcement agencies had prior to the city’s 1997 handover.
On Thursday, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said the island wanted to establish closer joint crime-fighting efforts with Hong Kong, including signing a mutual legal assistance agreement.
Transfer of body-in-cement murder suspects could pave way for Hong Kong-Taiwan legal assistance pact
“We share the same views with Hong Kong and Macau when it comes to joint crime-fighting efforts,” said the council’s secretary general Jeff Yang on Thursday in response to a Post inquiry.
“Through cooperation on individual cases, we are very positive about eventually establishing a mechanism of mutual legal assistance or joint crime-fighting efforts,” he said. “We have never ruled that out, and hope the authorities in Hong Kong and Macau can understand this.”
The call came this week after the island sent back three suspects in the body-in-cement murder case.
In the absence of a formal agreement between Hong Kong and Taiwan, Taiwan authorities could not have stopped the three suspects leaving Taiwan for elsewhere had they chosen to depart the island before their visa-authorised stays expired, a Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter told the Post.
Taiwan no ‘typhoon shelter’ for body-in-cement murder suspects: Hong Kong police bring back trio
