Premier Chang San-cheng says he hopes the case of Taiwanese nationals sent from Kenya to China will be dealt with through legal means.
Forty-five Taiwanese nationals suspected of involvement with a phone fraud ring in Kenya have been sent to China rather than deported to Taiwan. The move has led the government to lodge a protest with Beijing. On Wednesday, the premier said that the forcible removal of Taiwanese nationals to China violates the terms of a cross-strait agreement.
"That’s because the Kenyan court gave an injunction, but China ignored it. They forced the people to go to China and didn’t tell us ahead of time. This goes against the spirit of the cross-strait mutual legal assistance agreement that we signed," Chang said.
Chang said that if the Taiwanese nationals are sentenced in China, they should be sent back to Taiwan to serve their sentences in accordance with the cross-strait agreement on fighting crime. Chang said he does not want to see Taiwanese serving sentences in China.
According to Chang, it is unlikely that the impasse will be resolved by May 20, when the administration of President-elect Tsai Ing-wen is set to take office.