The National Security Council (NSC) have established a system to evaluate the risk of a country extraditing or repatriating Taiwanese to China, a government official said yesterday.
After China last month promulgated guidelines which included the death sentence for “diehard” independence advocates, concerns were raised over whether there are countries that would cooperate with Beijing to send travelers from Taiwan to China.
The NSC has called for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant agencies to hold meetings to discuss the issue, as Taiwanese are keen to travel abroad during the summer vacation.
Photo: CNA
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said there are countries likely to comply with China’s request and divided nations into five categories according to potential risk, a government official who chose to remain anonymous said.
One of the categories consists of nations that have amiable and close relations with China, especially those that uphold Beijing’s “one China” principle.
Two categories cover nations that have relevant agreements with China: The 65 nations that have signed a mutual legal assistance treaty in criminal matters, and the 17 nations that have signed an extradition treaty with China.
Another category includes the 14 nations that have extradited or repatriated Taiwanese who were accused of fraud to China.
The last category lists 17 nations that have allowed Beijing to pressure Taipei at overseas missions since January’s presidential election.
Lin also encouraged public awareness in the countries and regions frequently visited by Taiwanese, as listed by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ Tourism Administration.
An NSC official said that not all the nations are high risk, but Taiwanese are advised to increase awareness when visiting those that are listed in more than one category.
For example, countries that have signed an extradition or mutual legal assistance treaty with China, or support Beijing’s “one China” principle might not be democracies governed by the rule of law, and might not adhere to the principle of non-extradition of political offenders and the principle of double criminality, they said.
These countries are likely to send Taiwanese to China, against the internationally common practice that an act is only extraditable if it constitutes a crime in both the requesting and requested countries, the official said.
To avoid any unnecessary diplomatic disputes, diplomatic agencies would not name the countries that are high risk, because China might take advantage of the situation, they said.
Taiwanese can make their own judgements based on the indicators, the official said, adding that the ministry has ordered overseas missions to enhance their protection of Taiwanese visitors to ensure they are not sent to China.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) has invited 22 envoys to Taiwan to discuss how to enhance Taiwan’s international support, the official said.
The Mainland Affairs Council last month announced an “orange” travel warning for China, Hong Kong and Macau, following many Western countries’ advising people not to make unnecessary trips to China, they said, adding that South Korea also has a “orange” travel warning for China.
‘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
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and