The justice minister, Chiu Tai-san, says the platform for cross-strait cooperation on fighting crime still exists. However, the Chinese side has been much less willing to engage since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in May.
The minister was giving a report at the Legislature on Thursday on the current state of cross-strait law enforcement and judicial cooperation. Chiu said the technical aspects of joint agreements on fighting crime were still operating as before. He said authorities on the two sides were still supplying each other with documents and notifications of detentions. However, the two sides had not engaged in formal dialogue with each other since May.
"Basically, the mechanism of the communication platform is still there, the problem is with the willingness of the other side [to engage]. The frequency [of contact] and degree of warmth has gone down," Chiu said.
Authorities from the two sides last met in Beijing in April and in Zhuhai in May. They discussed telecom fraud cases in Kenya and Malaysia involving nationals from the two sides. The Taiwanese suspects were later extradited to China despite requests from Taiwan for its nationals to be repatriated. Chiu was asked if the repatriation of suspects was still possible. The minister said the communication channels were still there but the two sides will have to work together.