A fugitive Taiwanese politician who fled to China to escape a jail term has been returned to the island, television pictures showed, in a further sign of warming cross-strait ties. Footage broadcast by the TVBS cable news network showed Pai Hung-sen, former council speaker of the central Changhua County, being handcuffed upon arrival at Taipei's Sungshan airport Saturday.
Pai was sentenced to three years and ten months in jail by the High Court for embezzling government funds. He fled a hospital in December where he was being treated for heart disease.
The report said he was arrested in China's south-eastern Fujian Province last week and sent back to Taiwan under an agreement signed between Taipei and Beijing. The Apple Daily reported Pai was the 20th fugitive to be taken back to the island from the Chinese mainland since the agreement was signed last year, greatly speeding up the process of returning those fleeing justice. The two sides do not have a formal extradition treaty as China still regards Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, despite the island's having governed itself since the end of a civil war in 1949.
Comments
Comments are closed.