Incoming Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san has said that he hopes Taiwan and China can establish a standard operating procedures (SOP) for their collaboration on crime-fighting.
Chiu was speaking Monday after he was briefed by current Justice Minister Luo Ying-shay. Chiu said he hopes Mainland China won’t hinder the crime-fighting process with unnecessary hurdles.
“When it comes to the two sides working together to combat crime, we absolutely must be pragmatic about it. And we hope that China won’t hinder the process with trivial matters because cross-strait collaboration on fighting crime is good for the people on both sides and for social order. We won’t let political perspectives have an effect on whether or not we [work together]," said Chiu.
Chiu said that countries working together to fight crime is an international trend. Countries frequently collaborate to deal with drug trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking. He said he hopes that Taiwan and China can set up mutually agreed-upon procedures to facilitate crime-fighting efforts.
“As for how and where we should extradite criminals, I am hoping to establish standard operation procedures with Chinese officials for deal with perpetrators and victims from Taiwan, China, or both sides. That way, we can quickly move to obtain evidence, investigate, and apprehend the suspects," said Chiu.