The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday lauded the Czech government for providing “subsidiary protection” to eight Taiwanese fraud suspects detained in Prague, instead of deporting them to China as requested by Beijing.
Subsidiary protection is an international protection given to a non-EU national or a stateless person who does not qualify as a refugee and might face the risk of suffering serious harm if returned to their country of origin, according to the EU’s Web site.
“We commend and appreciate the position of the Czech government, which showed moral courage and pragmatism in protecting the human rights of Taiwanese, and refusing China’s [extradition] request,” ministry spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said.
It is the ministry’s obligation to protect the basic human and legal rights of Taiwanese when they face problems abroad, and the government would do all it can to help the suspects and have them returned home for legal proceedings, he said.
The suspects were in January last year arrested in Prague on an Interpol red notice. Beijing has accused them of posing as Chinese police officers and prosecutors to defraud Chinese nationals in their home country by telephone.
A Czech court last fall agreed to extradite them to China on Beijing’s pledge that they would face a fair trial and not be given the death penalty.
However, Czech Minister of the Interior Jan Hamacek on Monday said on Twitter that the suspects would be given subsidiary protection.
The Czech government feared for the safety of the suspects out of concern that they could face inhumane treatment or capital punishment if they were deported to China, the Czech News Agency reported.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
RSS