Taiwan trying to counter China's 'long-arm jurisdiction': MOFA

Taipei, Dec. 23 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is "taking action" to prevent Taiwan nationals from facing possible arrest when visiting the China-friendly countries Laos, Cambodia and Belarus, it said Tuesday.

MOFA has beefed up the emergency response mechanisms of its overseas offices and worked closely with like-minded countries to counter China's threat of "long-arm jurisdiction" over Taiwan, said MOFA spokesman Hsiao Kuangwei (蕭光偉), without offering details.

The agency also has consistently reminded Taiwanese citizens not to visit certain countries that could be pressured by China into cross-border crime-fighting and the extradition of Taiwanese wanted by Beijing, Hsiao said.

Hsiao was responding to a reported warning by an unnamed government official against Taiwanese traveling to Laos, Cambodia and Belarus, given that they are highly likely to accept Beijing's demand to arrest and deport Taiwanese deemed by China to be criminal suspects based on their support for Taiwan independence.

The unnamed official told the Chinese-language Liberty Times on Tuesday that Beijing could easily pressure the three countries into arresting Taiwanese deemed to be independence activists and sending them to China to be prosecuted, the Liberty Times report said.

Existing travel warnings to Laos and Cambodia also mention the existence of extradition arrangements between the two countries and China, but not for Belarus.

Currently, MOFA has issued the highest level red travel alert for Belarus due to the Russia-Ukraine war and for parts of Cambodia due to its ongoing border conflict with Thailand.

It has also issued the second-highest orange alert for Laos, citing the possibility of being lured into working for telecommunication fraud rings there.

The fear of China's "long-arm jurisdiction" emerged in November when a Chinese legal expert told China's state-run CCTV that Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Puma Shen (沈伯洋) should be pursued as a criminal.

The expert said Shen was on China's wanted list for promoting Taiwan independence and should be pursued through the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) and other mutual judicial assistance channels with foreign countries.