By Roy Mabasa
Taiwan’s exclusion from the Interpol, the international organization that facilitates cooperation among police agencies worldwide, has seriously hampered its ability to implement security checks at its borders and fight against terrorism, human, trafficking and other transnational crimes.
(Flickr / MANILA BULLETIN)
This was the statement made by Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) as it called on the support of all Interpol member states - including the Philippines - to allow them to join in the international police organization’s general assembly to be held on November 18 to 22 in the United Arab Emirates.
In a statement, CIB Commissioner Tsai Tsan Po said Taiwan’s exclusion from Interpol creates a gap in intelligence sharing and a loophole for criminal activity.
“To achieve Interpol’s key aims, such as ensuring and promoting the widest possible mutual assistance between all criminal police authorities, Taiwan must be included. Indeed, Taiwan seeks to work with law enforcement agencies around the world to jointly combat crime, fill gaps in the global security network, and create a safer world through joint cooperation,” Tsai added.
Taiwan’s application to attend the 85thInterpol General Assembly as an observer was rejected by the France-based Interpol in October 2016.
The following year, the international police body again rejected Taipei's application to host an Interpol-related security summit in Taiwan's capital city.
Both rejections were anchored on a 1984 resolution granting membership to the People’s Republic of China.
Unknown to many, one of Taiwan’s major accomplishments in transnational police cooperation was the capture of Ozamis City Councilor Ricardo Parojinog in a residential complex in Pingtung County, Taiwan last May.
Parojinog was earlier linked by the police to illegal drug trade while his elder brother Ozamiz Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog, was killed in a drug-related raid in July 2017.
“Taiwan is a good neighbor and will help make the world safer. Fighting crime is the common mission and responsibility of police forces worldwide,” Tsai said.
In 2016, Forbes named Taiwan as among the best places in the world for expats to live. This year, it was ranked 34th among 163 countries surveyed for the 2018 Global Peace Index by the Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace.
“In order to preserve its public security in a world increasingly challenged by cybercrime and terrorism, Taiwan must cooperate with worldwide law enforcement agencies,” he said.