The arrest of Taiwanese actor Kai Ko (柯震東) and Hong Kong singer-actor Jaycee Chan (房祖名) in Beijing over drug use has made headlines in Taiwan.
While much of the media attention has been focused on the two celebrities and reactions from their friends, families and fans, one issue that is more serious may be overlooked — despite a cross-strait agreement on mutual legal assistance, the Taiwanese government seems unable to intervene when a Taiwanese national is being held in China.
According to Chinese police, Ko and Chan were arrested after they were allegedly found to be smoking marijuana in Chan’s apartment in Beijing late on Aug. 12, yet it was not until Monday, Aug. 18, that Chinese authorities informed Ko’s agent and family that he was in custody over alleged drug use, and released the news through the state-run TV station CCTV.
While many details of the case have yet to be clarified, there is no doubt that the Chinese government has violated the Agreement on Jointly Cracking Down on Crime and Mutual Legal Assistance Across the Strait (海峽兩岸共同打擊犯罪及司法互助協議), signed in April 2009, which clearly stated that China should immediately inform Taiwan when a national of Taiwan is held in China, and vice versa.
However, when questioned by the media, the Straits Exchange Foundation said that China’s handling of the issue was appropriate because Ko has not been placed in “criminal detention,” but “administrative detention,” and thus the agreement might not apply to his case, adding that there is no specific time limit written into the agreement.
Actually, the agreement itself does not differentiate between “criminal detention” or “administrative detention”; it says only that “the two parties agree to inform the other party immediately when a person of a party is restricted of his freedom of movement,” and though it is true that the agreement gives no specific time frame within which one party must inform the other, nearly one week would not qualify as “immediately” by any standard.
Another Taiwanese national, Hsu Tung-shun (徐東順), was executed in June for drug trafficking. Since his arrest in 2011, the Taiwanese government made no effort to show concern over Hsu throughout the judicial process. Moreover, the Taiwanese government could have saved his life and reviewed the case under Taiwanese law because, according to the cross-strait agreement on mutual legal assistance, the Taiwanese government could have asked for Hsu to be extradited once the case is closed.
The government under the leadership of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has paid much attention to improving cross-strait relations, advertising how cross-strait agreements in mutual legal assistance, protection of Taiwanese investors and enhancing trade would benefit Taiwanese substantially.
That propaganda disregards the fact that the Chinese government has a long history of breaking its own promises and agreements. On top of that, the Taiwanese government itself does not seem to care much when China clearly violates agreements; instead, it does not hesitate to defend China’s positions.
We do not need to look far to find an example: The cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement was said to be able to significantly boost Taiwan’s economy, yet it has not brought about any significant benefits since it was signed in 2010.
With a government so given to exaggeration and such an untrustworthy counterpart, it is horrifying that the government is so enthusiastic about enhancing cross-strait exchanges, and it is hard not to believe that economic and political disasters await Taiwan.
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