Taiwan might have to rely on the FBI to run security checks for next year’s Summer Universiade — which is to be the largest international sports event the nation has ever staged.
The checks must be conducted through the International Criminal Police Organization’s (Interpol) I-24/7 Global Police Communications System, but because of Chinese objections, Taipei cannot gain direct access to the database.
Taiwan was a member of Interpol from 1964 to 1984, but exited when China joined.
Interpol, an intergovernmental organization facilitating police cooperation, cannot make the database available to non-members that do not have observer status.
The US is fighting to gain observer status for Taiwan, but the prospects of near-term progress are said to be “dim” because the Interpol General Assembly is to be hosted by China next year.
“And that will make things more difficult,” Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank member Bonnie Glaser said.
“In practice it means Taiwan is forced to acquire information second-hand on international criminal activity from friendly countries like the United States,” she told a Heritage Foundation conference.
Glaser, who is director of the think tank’s China Power Project, told a conference focused on Taiwan’s efforts to gain meaningful participation in international organizations that Taipei would hold the university games next year.
She said that the Summer Universiade was second only to the Olympics in terms of the number of participants and journalists expected to attend, with tens of thousands predicted.
“It is in the interests of every country that the Games take place safely,” Glaser said.
Without access to the Interpol database, she said that Taiwan would have to supply the names of everybody applying to attend to the FBI and rely on that organization to run them through the I-24/7 database.
“Equally, Taiwan is unable to directly share the information it gathers on suspicious persons with Interpol,” Glaser said.
According to a bill signed by US President Barack Obama in March, the US secretary of state is developing a strategy to gain Interpol observer status for Taiwan.
Taipei beat Brazilia to be named host of next year’s Summer Universiade.
The Games are to run next year from Aug. 19 to Aug. 30 and feature 17 sports, including swimming, diving, basketball, fencing, soccer, judo, table tennis, tennis and volleyball.
The events are to be held in Taipei, Keelung, New Taipei City, Taoyuan and Hsinchu.
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