Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday.
Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates.
Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said.
Photo: Reuters
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.”
Extradition treaties between China and about 60 countries have a provision to exclude the extradition for political offenses, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said.
“Extraditable offenses are the ones that are punishable under the laws of both parties,” in accordance with UN Model Treaty on Extradition, he said.
Most developed countries would not extradite Taiwanese to China for the “splitting the country” offense, he said.
It is best not to travel to developing countries that have signed up for China’s Belt and Road Initiative, especially authoritarian nations with a record of punishing political offenders, such as Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti, Chen said.
Democracies upholding human rights are safe even if they have an extradition treaty with China, he said.
Vessels and aircraft constitute “moving territories” according to international law, he said, adding that the Chinese government could arrest Taiwanese on a Chinese plane or ship.
Taiwanese could also be arrested if they have a connecting flight at a Chinese airport, even though their destination is not China, Hong Kong or Macau, Chen said.
While Beijing has a history of arresting Taiwanese within its territories on the pretense of unpaid debt, tax evasion or sexual harassment, its latest guidelines are aimed at Taiwan independence activists, he added.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
RSS