The Cabinet says that Taiwan will work with China on cases with disputed jurisdiction through a cross-strait agreement on fighting crime. That’s the word from Cabinet spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun on Thursday.
Earlier in the week, forty-five Taiwanese nationals suspected of involvement with a phone fraud ring in Kenya were sent to China rather than deported to Taiwan. The move has led the government to lodge a protest with Beijing. Premier Chang San-cheng called together officials from the foreign ministry, justice ministry and the Mainland Affairs Council on Thursday to discuss how to deal with the Kenya case.
Cabinet spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun said that the dispute arises because both Taiwan and China have jurisdiction in the case. Many victims of the fraud operation were in China.
Sun said that future disputes over jurisdiction could be handled in the same way that Taiwan and the Philippines resolved a similar dispute in 2011. In December 2011, the Philippines handled a fraud case in which 14 Taiwanese nationals were deported to China. After negotiations between the two sides, the 14 were sent back to Taiwan the following year and received trial in Taiwan.