Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) and Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) engaged in a fierce quarrel in the legislature yesterday over the meaning of Interpol’s “red notice” for Dolkun Isa, secretary-general of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC).
Kuan said the government misinterpreted Interpol’s warning and used outdated information in determining the WUC was a terrorist organization, citing a Central News Agency (CNA) report as evidence.
“I can’t believe you could sell your soul like this … How can you say black is white?” Kuan asked Jiang, who is considered by some to be a liberal.
Jiang said the government had made inquiries with Interpol via the country’s allies before publicizing information about the WUC, saying that the CNA story was based on false and second-hand information.
“Legislator Kuan, do you know the first sentence in the notice Interpol gave us? It says: ‘The person [Isa] is considered to be violent,’” Jiang said.
Jiang did not provide the notice from Interpol to back his claim.
The government rejected a planned visit by exiled WUC leader Rebiya Kadeer because of claims that Isa is a terrorist red-listed by Interpol and that the WUC has close links to two terrorist groups.
During Premier Wu Den-yih’s (吳敦義) question-and-answer session with the legislature, Kuan asked the premier to explain what the government had learned from Interpol about the WUC.
Wu said he did not know the name of the WUC secretary-general and that he had no idea about the seven types of Interpol notice or what the red notice for Isa meant.
“It’s not necessary for me to know all the details … as I decide on strategy,” Wu said.
Interpol uses seven types of notice: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, black and the Interpol-UN Security Council Special Notice.
Except for the green, orange and special notices, the other four do not represent a threat, Kuan said.
Kuan said CNA had published a report on Tuesday quoting Interpol as saying that it uses red notices as a way to spread information at the request of member countries and that it did not represent Interpol’s position on the matter.
The Government Information Office (GIO) asked CNA to remove the report, Kuan said, but GIO Minister Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) denied that this was the case.
Kuan also said US documents that Jiang cited in calling the WUC a terrorist group were outdated, as Washington removed the WUC from its terrorist list in 2004.
Jiang said Kuan’s interpretation of Interpol’s notices was flawed, adding that “being red-listed by Interpol is a very serious matter.”
A “red notice” by Interpol means the group seeks the arrest or provisional arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition, Jiang said.
Jiang said that the CNA reporter did not contact Interpol’s spokesman for an explanation of its notices.
The WUC was listed as a terrorist group in the US Department of State and the US Congress’ official report in 2002, Jiang said, adding that every country revises its terrorist watch list by adding and removing individuals each year.
“As we don’t have our own terrorist watch list, we have to resort to information from international organizations and other countries,” Jiang said.
While the government has repeatedly said that it never referred to Kadeer as a terrorist, Kadeer said on Wednesday that she planned to sue the Taiwanese government over its terrorism claims.
Marie Yang (楊月清), spokeswoman for the Taiwan Youth Anti-Communist Corps spokeswoman, said yesterday she had spoken on the telephone with Kadeer on Thursday and that Kadeer said that she would write a letter authorizing the group to file a suit on her behalf in the next few days.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LEE HSIN-FANG
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS