The US Department of State on Wednesday reiterated Washington’s support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), with the organization’s annual assembly next month.
The US has long opposed measures adopted by international organizations that unilaterally determine the status of Taiwanese without its consent, said Grace Choi, spokeswoman for the State Department’s East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau.
“As a general matter, we support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations where statehood is not a requirement and support its meaningful participation, as appropriate, in organizations where its membership is not possible,” Choi said in an e-mail.
“We remain committed to Taiwan’s meaningful participation in organizations like Interpol, the World Health Organization and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change,” she said.
Combating cross-border crime is a shared responsibility, so the US supports constructive efforts to cooperate and share information to address international crime and welcomes the contribution of Taiwanese, she said.
The US Congress in March passed a bill requiring the US secretary of state to develop a strategy to obtain observer status for Taiwan in Interpol. The bill was signed into law by US President Barack Obama.
There has been no confirmation that Taiwan will be able to attend the Interpol general assembly in Bali, Indonesia, from Nov. 7 to Nov. 10, although Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維) said early this month that Taiwan would apply to participate.
Lee yesterday said that Taiwan cannot be optimistic about its prospects for taking part in the meeting.
US Representative Matt Salmon, chairman of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, on Wednesday said that the US government should continue to use its influence to persuade other Interpol members to allow Taiwan to take part.
He also promised to continue efforts to help Taiwan participate at Interpol meetings.
In related news, Representative to France Zhang Ming-zhong (張銘忠) said that Taiwan is not able to join the I-24/7 global police communications system because it is not a member of Interpol.
Taiwan recognizes the need for the world to work together to counter terrorism and hopes to share information with other countries to combat cross-border crime, but its efforts to establish a connection with Interpol have been unsuccessful, Zhang said.
He said he wrote to the Interpol secretariat in Lyon, France, last year to express Taiwan’s willingness to share information about People’s Republic of China nationals using counterfeit Republic of China passports within the EU, but did not receive any response.
A similar outcome ensued when he wrote to the organization again this year to try to share Taiwan’s experience solving an ATM theft spree committed by an international crime ring, Zhang said.
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