About 610 Taiwanese nationals accused of crimes in other countries were extradited to China from 2016 to 2019, international non-governmental organization (NGO) Safeguard Defenders said yesterday, calling on the international community to intervene in the practice.
Based in Madrid, the organization is a human rights NGO founded in late 2016, its Web site says.
It released an eight-page report titled China’s Hunt for Taiwanese Overseas, which compiled data from news reports, government news releases and other sources available to the public.
Screengrab from Safeguard Defenders report.
“Through transnational repression and formal extraditions, the PRC [People’s Republic of China] is pursuing economic fugitives, Uyghur refugees, human rights defenders and fleeing Hong Kongers. But one group that has received far less attention to date: hundreds of Taiwanese nationals have been detained and forcibly extradited to mainland China from around the world,” the group said in a news release yesterday.
From 2016 to 2019, 610 Taiwanese nationals were extradited to China from around the world, including 219 from Spain, 117 from Cambodia and 79 from the Philippines, the report said.
The exact number might be larger, as the group had some difficulty obtaining data from Taiwanese authorities, Safeguard Defenders coordinator and researcher Chen Yen-ting (陳彥廷) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
Most of the extraditions of Taiwanese have taken place over the past five years, the report said.
“In many ways, the case in Kenya is emblematic of this change,” it said.
In 2014, China began pressuring Kenya over a group of more than 70 Chinese and Taiwanese nationals wanted for suspected telecommunications fraud, and in 2016 Kenya agreed to transfer some of them to China, it said.
“At least two of the Taiwanese nationals were later shown delivering televised forced confessions in China,” it said.
Straits Exchange Foundation and China’s Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits in 2009 signed a Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement in which they agreed to cooperate on crime fighting, investigation and collection of evidence, apprehension and repatriation of convicted people, among other areas.
Beijing’s refusal to fulfill its obligations is arguably a response to what it sees as the more pro-independence mentality of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration, which came to power in May 2016, the report said.
“The extradition of Taiwanese nationals to China should be seen explicitly as a violation of their rights to a fair trial and to be free from torture,” the report said.
“The international community should take immediate steps to intervene in this practice,” it said. “This opposition doesn’t even have to wade into the politically charged ‘One China’ narratives.”
The global community should also allow Taiwanese representatives to participate in international forums, it said, adding that it is time for Taiwan to join the Interpol.
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
RSS