A Kenyan court has once again postponed issuing a verdict on five Taiwanese fraud suspects who risk being deported to China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Chen Chun-shen (陳俊賢) said the court put off a session scheduled to be held yesterday until July 26.
It is the second time the session has been postponed. It was originally due to take place on June 6.
“To safeguard the dignity of our national sovereignty, we will continue our efforts [to prevent the deportation of the Taiwanese to China]. It is our unshakable responsibility,” Chen said.
The five Taiwanese are among a group of 77 fraud suspects — 48 Chinese, 28 Taiwanese and one Thai — detained by Kenyan police in November 2014 and charged with engaging in unlicensed telecommunications activities, using radio equipment without a license and organized crime.
Twenty-three of the Taiwanese were deported to Beijing following their acquittal by a court on April 5.
Twenty-two Taiwanese arrested in Kenya in March and 32 Taiwanese arrested in Malaysia in April, all on similar charges, were also deported to China.
At a news conference in Taipei earlier yesterday, Chen said concrete achievements have been made since Representative to South Africa John Chen (陳忠) and a secretary from the Ministry of Justice arrived in Kenya on Thursday last week to present the government’s case.
“During this period, many international news outlets, including the BBC, have reported on the case. I believe such wide media coverage has put pressure on the Kenyan government,” Chen said.
However, Chen said Beijing has also made an all-out effort to ensure the deportation of the five Taiwanese to China.
He said the ministry is fighting to protect universal human rights, including the right to a defense.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Eleanor Wang (王珮玲) said in a news release issued later yesterday that the ministry and the Taipei Liaison Office in the Republic of South Africa would continue to closely monitor the case.
“We will spare no effort in securing the return of the five Taiwanese to Taiwan and subject their alleged wrongdoings to due legal process,” Wang said.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS