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Work with us on crime, Hsieh says

Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday renewed calls for Chinese authorities to cooperate with their Taiwanese counterparts to jointly crack down on cross-strait crime.

Noting that authorities from both sides should face crime seriously, Hsieh called for officials from both sides to meet as soon as possible to prevent the cross-strait political deadlock from providing a "haven" for criminals.

Hsieh said criminals should not be allowed to use the political deadlock to their advantage, with those committing crimes in China fleeing to Taiwan to hide and those committing crimes in Taiwan fleeing to China.

Hsieh made the appeal in view of the growing number of crimes committed in this country by Chinese citizens in recent months, including fraud cases based out of China and attacks on policemen by unidentified assailants.

He cited the most recent attack, in Wuchi (梧棲), on Monday, as an example, saying that one man was killed and two others arrested after a shootout with police. All three men were later identified as illegal Chinese immigrants.

Hsieh said that despite their political differences, authorities from the two sides of the Taiwan Strait should collaborate to jointly crack down on crime, which he called "antisocial and detrimental to co-existence and co-prosperity."

He suggested that law enforcement authorities engage in regular exchanges, swap information on crimes and criminals and step up criminal investigations and repatriation of criminals.

Late last month, Mainland Affairs Council officials urged China to sign an agreement as soon as possible to crack down on cross-strait crime after public security officials in Xiamen reportedly uncovered a fraud ring, detaining 151 suspects, including 28 Taiwanese. The ring's targets were all Taiwanese.

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Editorial: Crackdown on cross-strait crime
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