Cambodia deported Taiwanese fraud suspects to China yesterday and today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, expressing serious concern and urging Cambodian authorities to provide a full list of the Taiwanese suspects deported.
About 180 Taiwanese were arrested together with seven alleged Chinese coconspirators on March 31 during a round of raids on an online telecommunications fraud center in Phnom Penh.
Cambodian authorities deported nearly 190 suspects to China in three groups last night and early this morning, the ministry said today.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
After receiving notification of the arrests on April 1, Taiwan’s representative office in Ho Chi Minh City began negotiating with the Cambodian government, the ministry said.
The office requested that Cambodian authorities provide a complete list of names of the Taiwanese suspects and deport them to Taiwan to face legal consequences in accordance with international norms, it said.
Despite these requests, the Cambodian government has yet to provide a complete list or specific number of suspects, the ministry said.
The ministry expressed serious regret over the Cambodian government’s compliance with China, disregard for international norms and failure to respect the will of the Taiwanese involved.
The ministry has instructed Taiwan’s representative office in Ho Chi Minh City to formally convey Taiwan’s strong protest to these actions, it said.
The ministry consulted with relevant agencies including the Mainland Affairs Council, hoping to utilize the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement (海峽兩岸共同打擊犯罪及司法互助協議) to request the suspects’ return, it said.
The ministry urged Taiwanese not to engage in illegal activities such as telecom fraud overseas to avoid breaching local laws and being imprisoned abroad.
Relevant agencies would continue working with other countries to strengthen efforts in combating transnational crime, the ministry said.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS