The Taipei Economic and Cultural Mission in Ankara is doing everything in its power to ensure that 52 Taiwanese arrested in Turkey for installing hidden video recorders at ATMs would be deported to Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
At a routine news conference in Taipei yesterday morning, ministry spokeswoman Eleanor Wang (王珮玲) said the mission was notified by Turkish police on Monday of the arrest of 52 fraud suspects in the city of Izmir.
“The 52 Taiwanese were apprehended for allegedly placing hidden cameras at ATMs. As of now, it is unclear whether the case also involves Chinese suspects,” Wang said.
Upon learning of the arrest, Representative to Turkey Yaser Cheng (鄭泰祥), along with several staff members, immediately flew to Izmir, where he told the Turkish police that the 52 suspects were Taiwanese, Wang said.
“The mission is doing its best to ensure that the suspects are deported back to Taiwan after following all legal procedures and that they will face prosecution at home,” Wang said.
The apprehension of the 52 has touched a nerve in Taiwan after 77 Taiwanese implicated in similar scams in other nations — 45 in Kenya and 32 in Malaysia — were deported to Beijing instead of Taipei in April.
Critics say the controversial deportations bring into question the effectiveness of the so-called “1992 consensus,” which was often touted by former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) throughout his eight-year term.
The “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
A Central News Agency (CNA) report later yesterday, citing Turkish media, said the 52 Taiwanese were among a group of 81 fraud suspects arrested in Izmir, some of whom are Chinese.
The suspects, including four underaged men and 10 women, targeted Chinese and Taiwanese tourists, stealing their bank details when they used ATMs in Izmir, CNA said.
It is estimated that about 3,000 cards have been copied by the fraud ring, it said.
The group is also suspected of operating a call center to contact victims after they return home to swindle money out of them.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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