A 35-year-old Spanish fugitive who went into hiding in Taiwan six years ago was deported after Interpol requested help from Taiwanese police, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said on Wednesday.
Taiwan has been trying for years to join Interpol, even as an observer, and every request has been rejected. However, this deportation proves not only how Taiwan can help the organization, but also how joining Interpol is important for Taiwan to protect itself, as it is unlikely that the authorities would have allowed a suspect in a kidnapping and sexual assault case in Italy into the nation had they been aware of the case.
Taiwan withdrew from Interpol in 1984 when China joined, as the government at the time was unwilling to use the title “Taiwan, China,” a requirement for its continued membership. Today, the government is very different from that of the Martial Law era, and might accept such a title if necessary. This is evidenced by Taiwan’s willingness to participate in the Olympics as “Chinese Taipei,” the same designation used while observing the 2009 session of the World Health Assembly (WHA). So on what rationale could Interpol reject Taiwan’s bid to join, even as an observer?
As with the annual WHA meetings, Taiwan has found its bids to observe Interpol’s assemblies rejected since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) came to power in 2016. Then-minister of foreign affairs David Lee (李大維) in November 2016 said that Beijing’s influence in the organization was a “very obvious factor.” The US Senate and House of Representatives in March that year passed legislation requiring the US secretary of state to develop a strategy to help Taiwan obtain observer status in Interpol — a bill that was subsequently signed into law by then-US president Barack Obama.
Last year, then-Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said that “Taiwan is not part of China and the latter has no right to represent the nation on the international stage,” in anticipation of Taiwan’s bid to join the annual Interpol assembly again being rejected due to Chinese pressure. Then, in October last year, just as the assembly was about to take place in Chile, a number of nations friendly to Taiwan spoke up for it to participate.
British lawmakers Nigel Evans and Dennis Rogan, cochairs of the British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group, said in a joint statement: “We were dismayed to learn that Taiwan has yet to be invited to participate in the upcoming 88th Interpol General Assembly in Chile as an observer due to unnecessary political considerations.” Two weeks earlier, on Sept. 30, parliamentarians in the Italy-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group wrote a letter to Interpol president Kim Jong-yang and Interpol secretary-general Jurgen Stock, expressing support for Taiwan’s participation as an observer.
Interpol should seriously consider allowing Taiwan to join not only because of the international support the issue has garnered, but also because Taiwan’s exclusion causes a dangerous gap in international crime-fighting efforts.
In May last year, Taiwan needed Interpol’s assistance to arrest Ali Hammad Jumaah, an Iraqi suspected of killing his Taiwanese wife’s parents in Taipei. Jumaah fled to Japan, where his free movement might have put the lives of Japanese at risk. Similarly, Taiwanese might be at risk if criminals flee to the nation knowing it is not part of Interpol and does not have extradition treaties with most countries.
Just as it has done in healthcare, Taiwan has proven to Interpol that it can function well despite exclusion from the organization, but there is also no rational argument for excluding it. Taiwan’s participation in Interpol — as with other international organizations — would be mutually beneficial. Taiwan is adept in drug enforcement, customs enforcement, tracking suspects and investigating cases. It would be one of Interpol’s most competent member states.
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