Taiwan’s extradition fears

The impetus for the proposed extradition law was the case of a Hong Kong man suspected of killing his girlfriend in Taiwan. Taiwan’s sovereign government asked Hong Kong to extradite him to stand trial there. But that request backfired, giving China an excuse to force through a law that would compel Hong Kong to extradite suspects to other nations—including mainland China. Taipei fears that the proposed law would put Taiwanese visitors and residents in Hong Kong at risk of being sent to the mainland for prosecution; as a result, a Taiwan government spokesman said Taiwan would rather have no extradition measure than one that could subject its people to Chinese authority. Taipei wants the “relevant suspect to face justice,” said Chiu Chuicheng, the deputy minister of the island’s Mainland Affairs Council. But “we have to ask whether the amendment proposed by the Hong Kong government is politically motivated.” Under the extradition bill, foreigners working in Hong Kong could also be sent to China for trial, on spurious charges of spying or banned political activities—a prospect that alarms the U.S. About 85,000 Americans are currently working and living in Hong Kong.