Taiwan seeks Interpol inclusion to ensure a safer world

2016/11/07

Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S. head Stanley Kao, in an opinion piece published Nov. 2 in the Washington Times, reiterated the case for Taiwan’s participation in Interpol, writing that the nation’s inclusion is imperative and in accordance with the organization’s vision of “connecting police for a safer world.”

The opinion piece appeared ahead of Interpol’s 85th General Assembly, which will be held Nov. 7-10 in Bali, Indonesia. “It is imperative to include Taiwan in Interpol and its activities as an observer for a seamless and more effective network of law enforcement to create a safer world,” Kao urged.

According to Kao, Taiwan, in collaboration with foreign police forces, “has solved more than 200 transnational crimes, ranging from fraud, illicit drugs, human trafficking to cyber-related crimes,” and apprehended more than 12,000 suspects in recent years. Even with Taiwan’s commitment to combatting illegal activities, its exclusion from Interpol creates “an egregious gap in the global law enforcement cooperation and coordination mechanism,” he wrote.

Allowing the nation access to Interpol’s databases is crucial to ensuring the safety of Taiwan and the 9,000 attendees from 170 countries that are expected to participate in the 2017 Summer Universiade, which is being hosted in Taipei in August next year, according to Kao.

On Oct. 31, Criminal Investigation Bureau Commissioner Liu Po-liang penned a letter published in The Diplomat, an online international news magazine, addressing the importance of Taiwan’s inclusion in Interpol. According to Liu, the country’s participation would be a mutually beneficial arrangement, facilitating interaction and compensating for the current lack of intelligence exchanges.

“It’s time to let Taiwan back in,” Liu wrote.

The nation’s bid to join Interpol has received strong backing from U.S. lawmakers. On Nov. 1, U.S. Congressional Taiwan Caucus Co-Chairmen Mario Diaz-Balart, Albio Sires, Gerry Connolly and Gregg Harper issued a statement in support of Taiwan’s increased participation in international organizations.

A bill directing U.S. President Barack Obama to develop a strategy to assist Taiwan in obtaining observer status in Interpol, HR 1853, was proposed by Rep. Matt Salmon and approved without dissent in November 2015 by the U.S. House of Representatives. In December that same year, Sen. Cory Gardner introduced a bill, S 2426, aimed at promoting Taiwan’s meaningful participation. The legislation was passed unanimously by the U.S. Senate March 8 and signed into law March 18 by Obama.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=249239&ctNode=2194&mp=9)