Wed, May 01, 2002 page2

• Chinese police extorting Taiwanese

  ALLEGATIONS Legislators say that Taiwanese men who want to marry Chinese women should avoid the city of Ningte, where their lives and money are at risk

  • By Lin Miao-Jung / STAFF REPORTER
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  DPP legislators Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) and Chiu Chuang-chin (邱創進) yesterday accused police in the small town of Ningte (寧德), in China's Fujian Province of extorting ransom money after detaining Taiwanese men who went there to get married.

  Secretary-General Shi Hwei-yow (許惠祐) of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF, 海基會) disclosed similar cases on Monday, but Liu gave further details in a press conference held by him and Chiu about how Chinese police in Ningte allegedly held Taiwanese men for ransom.

  Liu said that, shortly after the Taiwanese men had completed the wedding formalities, Chinese police arrested them on trumped up charges, such as "faking marriage" and "illegally entering China," before demanding a ransom for their release.

  According to the director of the SEF's department of legal affairs, Lin Shu-min (林淑閔), over 20 such cases have been reported since last May. "Most cases have occurred in the city of Ningte, while one or two have happened in other places," Lin added.

  "We suspect that the police force in Ningte is riddled with corruption. If Taiwanese men want to marry Chinese women, we suggest that they avoid Ningte where their lives and money are at risk," said Chiu.

  During the press conference, Liu invited an alleged victim, surnamed Chu, to discuss his experience over the telephone.

  Chu said that he arrived in China on Nov. 23 last year to marry a Chinese woman, but was arrested by Chinese police on Dec. 14. He was released on Jan. 30 after paying 50,000 yuan (US$6,100).

  Chu accused the Ningte police of bringing trumped up charges against him of "practicing deception on Chinese nationals," and of assaulting him during his period of detention.

  Chu said that a friend of his, surnamed Chung, was arrested on a charge of "faking marriage" and held for eight months, before paying 200,000 yuan (US$24,400) for his release.

  Lin said the SEF had tried to find out out as much as it could about the situation via all possible channels, including sending letters requesting the assistance of its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS, 海協會), but has received no response.

  "We hope that the detention of Taiwanese citizens by Chinese police in Ningte are only isolated cases, because they have seriously damaged the trust between the people of Taiwan and China." Liu said.

  The lawmakers also called for a resumption of dialogue between Taiwan and China, saying that dialogue would help to solve disputes of this sort.

  For your information

  Shotgun weddings:

  * Legislators claim that, shortly after some Taiwanese men had completed wedding formalities, Chinese police arrested them on trumped up charges, such as "faking marriage" and "illegally entering China," before demanding a ransom for their release. * The legislators claim most of the cases have occurred in the city of Ningte.
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