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Murder suspect who sparked Hong Kong protests wants to turn himself in

The murder suspect whose case sparked Hong Kong’s protest movement wants to surrender to authorities in Taiwan, Hong Kong’s leader said Saturday.
Hong Kong CEO Carrie Lam told reporters her government would “actively follow up on” a letter she received from Chan Tong-kai requesting help to give himself up, the Associated Press reported.

Chan is wanted by Taiwan authorities for allegedly killing his girlfriend during a trip to the island last year. He was not sent back to face charges because there’s no extradition agreement.

He was jailed in Hong Kong on money laundering charges, and is due to be released this week.
Reverend Canon Peter Koon Ho-ming, a top Anglican priest who has been visiting Chan weekly in jail, said the 20-year-old hoped the move would ease the chaos in the city.
“I have been visiting him for more than half a year now. At first, he was worried about turning himself in, but after talking to lawyers from Taiwan and with his family, he made the decision last month,” said the provincial secretary-general of the city’s Anglican Church, the South China Morning Post reported.

Chan’s case was one of the main reasons that Lam wanted to pass the proposed extradition amendments. But the proposals sparked massive protests, generated by fears the extradition amendments would put residents at risk of being sent into mainland China’s Communist Party-controlled judicial system.

Even after Lam withdrew the extradition proposals, Hong Kong residents have continued to fill the streets each weekend for five months, frequently devolving into vandalism and violent confrontations with police. Over the months, the movement morphed to demand full democracy and an independent inquiry into police tactics.

Lam told local broadcaster RTHK she felt “relief” at Chan’s decision to hand himself in to Taiwanese authorities.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice urged Hong Kong Thursday to keep Chan in prison and investigate him for the killing, but Lam and other Hong Kong officials have ruled that out.
Separately, pro-democracy leaders said another protest march will go on Sunday, even though police ruled it illegal and refused to grant a permit. That sets the scene for further violence with law enforcement.