Taiwan on Sunday signed an extradition treaty with Saint Kitts and Nevis as part of bilateral efforts to combat crime.
The agreement was signed at a ceremony in the capital of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Basseterre, shortly after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) arrived in the Caribbean nation on a state visit.
Ma said at the ceremony that the extradition treaty is Taiwan’s first agreement with Saint Kitts and Nevis since the two countries established diplomatic ties 30 years ago.
Photo: CNA
It is also the 11th extradition treaty that Taiwan has signed with other countries.
The agreement was signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) and his Saint Kitts and Nevis counterpart, Patrice Nisbett, on behalf of the two countries.
Ma said the extradition treaty is of great significance to the two countries’ common goal of fighting crime and upholding justice.
However, based on experiences with other countries, there might not be many opportunities for the application of the treaty, Ma said.
“However, without such a treaty, we may be unable to bring criminals to justice on some occasions,” he said.
“Therefore, it is very important to have an extradition treaty in place to combat crime and ensure the effective execution of the law,” he added.
“I’m very pleased to be able to witness the signing of this agreement, as I used to regret that I was unable to represent our country in signing any extradition treaty with other countries during my three-year term as minister of justice,” Ma added.
Saint Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Denzil Douglas greeted Ma and his entourage at the airport upon their arrival in Basseterre.
Ma said he has learned from media reports that Saint Kitts and Nevis has a compelling array of natural variety and beauty.
The country has often been listed as one of the world’s 10 “must-visit” tourist destinations and its Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park is on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites.
Ma said he hopes to have an opportunity to see the country’s scenery during his visit.
He said Saint Kitts and Nevis is an important ally and that over the past three decades, the two countries have forged a cordial relationship through cooperation in areas such as tourism, agriculture, “green” energy, manpower training, education and culture.
During his visit, Ma and Douglas are scheduled to review various cooperative projects, and explore feasible ways to further deepen and expand bilateral cooperation.
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
SECURITY: To protect the nation’s Internet cables, the navy should use buoys marking waters within 50m of them as a restricted zone, a former navy squadron commander said A Chinese cargo ship repeatedly intruded into Taiwan’s contiguous and sovereign waters for three months before allegedly damaging an undersea Internet cable off Kaohsiung, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation revealed. Using publicly available information, the Liberty Times was able to reconstruct the Shunxing-39’s movements near Taiwan since Double Ten National Day last year. Taiwanese officials did not respond to the freighter’s intrusions until Friday last week, when the ship, registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, turned off its automatic identification system shortly before damage was inflicted to a key cable linking Taiwan to the rest of
RSS