A murder suspect fled to China from Taiwan. You are now trapped in quarantine for covid-19

Hong Kong (CNN) – The strict zero covid-19 policy in China It has allowed authorities to catch thousands of imported coronavirus cases. But, occasionally, it can also help catch a fugitive.

A homicide suspect who fled to China hours after allegedly shooting a man to death in Taiwan on Monday is now “trapped” in a hotel quarantine upon arrival in the coastal city of Xiamen, making it easier for him to capture.

Taiwanese authorities have asked their Chinese counterparts for help to return the alleged perpetrator to the island, the Taiwan Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) told CNN on Thursday.

Since the pandemic, China has imposed some of the tightest border restrictions in the world.

Foreign visitors, from tourists to students, are largely prohibited from entering mainland China. The few who can enter, as well as returning Chinese citizens, must undergo a minimum of 14 days of quarantine in a specialized facility, and that also applies to fugitives.

The suspect in his 30s, surnamed Huang, allegedly shot a 45-year-old man early Monday in New Taipei City, according to the Central Taiwan News Agency (CNA).

The victim suffered two gunshot wounds to the neck and was pronounced dead at a local hospital later Monday, according to local police, who learned of the shooting around 8 a.m. local time.

Huang, for his part, fled the scene in a silver car, which he is later accused of having left in a shopping center parking lot, CNA reported. He then reportedly tried to cover his trail by changing his clothes twice and taking different means of transportation to reach Taoyuan International Airport, where he boarded a plane that left for mainland China around noon, according to the report.

Huang is understood to be in quarantine at a Xiamen hotel, CNA reported.

Taiwan police are investigating the case, according to CNA. The report adds that the Chinese Ministry of Public Security received the CIB’s extradition request.

In its response to CNN, the CIB declined to comment on the progress of the extradition, citing ongoing negotiations with Chinese authorities.

The suspect’s escape to China, first reported by Taiwanese media and later picked up by Chinese state media, has caused quite a stir on Chinese social media. On Weibo, the Chinese Twitter-like platform, two hashtags Related links have attracted a total of nearly 300 million views.

“You can escape arrest by the Taiwan police, but you cannot escape mainland China’s epidemic prevention and control measures,” read a comment on Weibo.

“After arriving in mainland China, he must have been quarantined right off the plane,” said another.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office in China, pointed to reports of the shooting, without offering any details. “We are currently verifying the details of the situation,” he said.

On Weibo, some users see the case as an opportunity to advance Beijing’s claim to sovereignty over self-government in Taiwan.

“I hope that the trial will take place in mainland China and that the central government will uphold justice for fellow Taiwanese, so that we can really benefit Taiwan and make people happy,” read a popular comment.

Taiwan and China have extradited convicted criminals and suspects across the Taiwan Strait in the past. But with relations between Taipei and Beijing in its lowest point in decades, it remains unclear how Beijing will react to Taiwan’s request this time.

Beijing considers the democracy of 24 million people as part of its territory, even though the Chinese Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan. For decades after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, hostility reigned between Beijing and Taipei, with trade, travel and communications largely blocked and military conflicts on the rise.

But tensions began to subside in the late 1980s, and in 1990 both parties signed the Kinmen Agreement, which allowed them to hand over the other party’s illegal immigrants, criminal suspects and convicted criminals.

In 2009, Beijing and Taipei signed another agreement that institutionalized cross-strait crime fighting and mutual legal assistance, covering “narcotics, smuggling, money laundering, fraud, corruption and other financial crimes.”

Since then, Taiwan has received 502 suspected criminals from China, according to data provided by the Taiwanese Ministry of Justice.

Previous extradition cases include that of former Taiwanese judge Lee Dong-ying, who fled to the southern Chinese province of Guangdong after being convicted of corruption in Taiwan, and that of Chen Yung-chih, a former Taiwanese judge. of the main wanted criminals who was involved in at least five shootings on the island.

China, for its part, has received 21 people from Taiwan, according to the island’s Ministry of Justice.

But relations between Beijing and Taipei have cooled since Tsai Ing-wen, of the traditionally pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, became president of Taiwan in 2016. And with it, the number of extraditions across the strait has also dropped dramatically.

In 2015, Beijing handed over 63 wanted fugitives to Taipei. That number dropped to 17 the following year, and has been declining ever since. Last year, only four suspects were returned to Taiwan from China.

And this year, as of September, no suspect has been extradited.