Beijing could request countries with which it has extradition agreements to deport Taiwanese to China to face criminal charges following the implementation of national security legislation for Hong Kong, a former Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official warned yesterday.
Some developing countries, and those close to China because of the Belt and Road Initiative, are likely to accommodate Beijing’s requests to extradite Taiwanese to China, said former deputy MAC minister Chen Ming-chi (陳明祺), who served from July 2, 2018, until May 20, and then returned to his former post as an assistant professor of sociology at National Tsing Hua University.
While Taiwanese should be aware of this situation, they should not restrain their pursuit of freedom of speech, Chen said.
Photo: AFP
“If we remain silent about the situation in Hong Kong, we would be playing into Beijing’s hands. The more China oppresses freedom of speech, the more we should voice our support for Hong Kong,” he said.
The government should work with nations that share similar democratic values to speak up for Hong Kong’s freedom, he added.
That would help limit the horrible effects that the Hong Kong national security legislation would have, he said.
Tung Li-wen (董立文), a consultant for the Taiwan Thinktank, said that Taiwanese are in danger of being deported to China when they visit countries that have extradition agreements with Beijing.
The risk of deportation would be even higher if they travel to pro-Beijing countries that have underdeveloped legal systems, he added.
Extradition agreements generally do not apply to political cases and countries with well-established democratic systems would review extradition requests on a case-by-case basis, he said.
“Taiwanese need to be extra careful when they visit countries that have extradition agreements with Hong Kong,” Tung said.
An example of a person detained by Beijing abroad is Chinese-born Swedish citizen Gui Minhai (桂民海), one of the shareholders of Causeway Bay Bookstore in Hong Kong, who was kidnapped from his holiday home in Thailand in 2015 and reappeared in a video confession in China in 2016.
Gui in Febraury was sentenced to 10 years in prison for illegally providing intelligence overseas.
In cross-strait telephone scams run from a third country, Beijing has also requested host countries to extradite Taiwanese suspects to stand trial in China.
Article 38 of the Hong Kong National Security Law states that the law also applies to non-Hong Kong residents who contravene Chinese laws outside Hong Kong.
Australia, Canada and other countries have suspended the execution of their extradition agreements with Hong Kong due to the article.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a