BEIJING, May 2: Chinese officials have defended the mass forced deportations of Taiwanese from different countries to China for alleged telecom frauds, saying the action complies with international law and will help fight crimes better.
A total of 174 suspects, including 77 Taiwanese, implicated in more than 100 major telecom fraud cases abroad were repatriated to China on grounds that all the victims of the fraud trap are mainland residents.
Taiwan said China’s actions amounted to an “uncivilised act of extra-judicial abduction” which represents a “gross violation of basic human rights”.
Wherever the criminals are, the mainland has territorial jurisdiction over these cases as the impact of the fraud was on the mainland, said Li Juqian, deputy head of the International Law School under China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL).
“It is in accordance with the international and mainland law that Malaysia deported the suspects to the mainland. The move is unchallengeable in terms of law,” Li was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.
Yesterday 97, including 32 Taiwanese, were deported to China by Malaysia.
Earlier, Kenyan police also deported 77 suspected telecom scammers, including 45 Taiwanese, in another two fraud syndicates to the Chinese mainland last month.
China’s law enforcement agencies have cooperated with their counterparts in countries like the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia in cracking down on telecom frauds since 2011, according to Ma Chengyuan, a law professor with the CUPL.
Given diplomatic relations and extradition treaties that China established and inked with these countries as well as criminal justice pacts signed with some of them, China can cooperate with them if crimes are committed there and it does not matter whether suspects are from the mainland or Taiwan, Ma said.
In late March, Malaysian and Chinese mainland police cooperated in destroying five telecom fraud dens located in Malaysia and nabbed 117 Chinese suspects, including 65 from the mainland and 52 from Taiwan.
Among those from Taiwan, 20 were transferred to Taiwan authorities on April 15.
The mainland government requested Malaysia to transfer the rest of the suspects to the mainland.
The mainland used to transfer Taiwanese suspects to Taiwan, which was in compliance with the relevant cross-strait agreement and no more than an internal division of work, Ma said.
As stipulated by the mainland’s criminal law, the mainland enjoys territorial jurisdiction over telecom fraud cases based overseas and targeting mainland legal persons and residents, the report said. (PTI)
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