The financial scandal involving Rebar Asia Pacific Group that erupted last week once again highlights the need for a cross-strait mechanism for extraditing criminals. In the absence of such measures, unscrupulous criminals will continue taking advantage of and profiting from the political impasse between Taiwan and China to avoid suffering the repercussions of their wrongdoings.
That criminals big and small have been seeking a haven across the Strait to avoid punishment is not a new phenomenon. In fact, this practice has become so commonplace that the only reason people like Wang You-theng (
In any other country, the authorities would request the extradition of criminals via formal channels and official agreements. Taiwan does not enjoy such recourse as it only has formal agreements with a handful of countries. This stems from the fact that most countries do not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state -- including the country where most Taiwanese fugitives flee after committing a crime, China.
It is quite unlikely that a bilateral treaty on extradition with Beijing will be inked anytime soon. Taipei should nevertheless continue to insist on establishing a system, however informal, for the extradition of wanted individuals.
A precedent was set in the 1990s when -- with assistance from the Red Cross -- Taipei and Beijing reached an agreement on the return of illegal Chinese immigrants to China.
China's image abroad has been greatly damaged by the fact that it has become a haven of choice for criminals fleeing prosecution. Beijing's inaction on this issue is in stark contrast to other countries' assistance when Beijing seeks the extradition of corrupt Chinese officials.
Last year, Beijing signed a bilateral extradition treaty with Spain -- the first developed country to enter such a treaty with China. A similar agreement with France is expected soon. Reacting to a growing number of corrupt former Chinese officials fleeing to developed countries, Beijing has been stepping up its efforts to sign extradition treaties with many of them.
What makes matters worse for Taiwan is that many of the criminals who run off to China use their stolen money to finance projects there. Adding salt to the wound, every now and then some of these criminals are wined and dined by Chinese officials. Such scenes engender great resentment, especially on the part of hardworking Taiwanese who have lost life-long savings to these criminals.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to bully Taiwan by conducting military drills extremely close to Taiwan in late May 2024 and announcing a legal opinion in June on how they would treat “Taiwan Independence diehards” according to the PRC’s Criminal Code. This article will describe how China’s Anaconda Strategy of psychological and legal asphyxiation is employed. The CCP’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) conducted a “punishment military exercise” against Taiwan called “Joint Sword 2024A” from 23-24 May 2024, just three days after President William Lai (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was sworn in and
Former US president Donald Trump’s comments that Taiwan hollowed out the US semiconductor industry are incorrect. That misunderstanding could impact the future of one of the world’s most important relationships and end up aiding China at a time it is working hard to push its own tech sector to catch up. “Taiwan took our chip business from us,” the returnee US presidential contender told Bloomberg Businessweek in an interview published this week. The remarks came after the Republican nominee was asked whether he would defend Taiwan against China. It is not the first time he has said this about the nation’s
In a recent interview with the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) called President William Lai (賴清德) “naive.” As always with Ma, one must first deconstruct what he is saying to fully understand the parallel universe he insists on defending. Who is being “naive,” Lai or Ma? The quickest way is to confront Ma with a series of pointed questions that force him to take clear stands on the complex issues involved and prevent him from his usual ramblings. Regarding China and Taiwan, the media should first begin with questions like these: “Did the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
The Yomiuri Shimbun, the newspaper with the largest daily circulation in Japan, on Thursday last week published an article saying that an unidentified high-ranking Japanese official openly spoke of an analysis that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) needs less than a week, not a month, to invade Taiwan with its amphibious forces. Reportedly, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has already been advised of the analysis, which was based on the PLA’s military exercises last summer. A Yomiuri analysis of unclassified satellite photographs confirmed that the PLA has already begun necessary base repairs and maintenance, and is conducting amphibious operation exercises