The government has established an intelligence-sharing channel with Europol through the UK to prevent terrorism during the Summer Universiade, which is to begin in Taipei on Saturday, a government official who asked to be unnamed said on Tuesday.
As an EU institution which China is not a member of, Europol is less susceptible to Beijing’s political pressure than Interpol, the official said.
Europol has standing ties with the Australian government, which for some time was under consideration as a possible intermediary for Taiwan and Europol’s intelligence-sharing collaboration during the Games, the official said.
Because Australia is not an EU member, routing anti-terrorism intelligence through Australia was believed to be the less politically sensitive option, the official said.
However, it was decided safety should take precedence over such considerations and the UK, which on June 3 was the site of a terrorist attack at London Bridge, was selected to fill the role, they said.
Taipei first asked for Interpol’s assistance, including intelligence-sharing and advisers to facilitate the process, the official said.
It was not anticipated that China would pressure Interpol into citing Beijing’s “one China” policy and demanding Taiwan seek help through Beijing, the official said.
In response, officials from agencies and ministries in March visited Europol in The Hague, the Netherlands to negotiate with the agency, they said.
The agencies included the Executive Yuan’s Office of Homeland Security, National Police Administration, Criminal Investigation Bureau and others, they said.
An agreement was hammered out by the parties involved under which Europol would share terrorism-related sensitive information via the UK, the official said.
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