Paris, Nov. 16 (CNA) The France-Taiwan Friendship Group of the French National Assembly on Friday called on the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to invite Taiwan to attend its General Assembly to be held in Dubai on Sunday, to prevent gaps in the international transmission of criminal intelligence.
In a statement, the group said that without membership in Interpol, Taiwan and its police authorities share information with their international counterparts only in a very indirect and unsatisfactory way, which could render delays and risks losing confidentiality.
The group pointed out that Taiwan's absence in Interpol's annual assembly creates gaps in intelligence transmission on a global scale, from which criminals could benefit.
Taiwan's police authorities have successfully thwarted multiple transnational crimes in cooperation with foreign police forces, such as a joint operation carried out with the Thai police that recovered 120 million Thai Baht (US$3.7 million) from a transnational fraud case and a recovery of more than US$60 million from a cyberattack against Taiwan's financial system thanks to information offered by some Interpol member states, it added.
Controversies related to Taiwan's political status should not prevail over Interpol's provisions to promote international police cooperation and the organization should integrate the island into its international crime-fighting mechanisms by hosting observers from Taiwan, the group affirmed.
Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) sent a letter to Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock in September asking that the CIB be allowed to participate as an observer at the Dubai meeting, but the appeal was rejected.
Eight of Taiwan's allies, including Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Solomon Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and eSwatini, have sent letters to Interpol asking the organization to arrange for Taiwan's participation as soon as possible, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Friday.
Interpol, founded in 1923, is the world's largest international police organization with 192 member countries. Taiwan was an Interpol member as the Republic of China until 1984, when it was replaced by the People's Republic of China.
(By Tzeng Yi-shiuan and Chi Jo-yao)
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