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Taiwan seeking early repatriation of AWOL officer held in U.K.

ROC Central News Agency

2013/12/20 12:55:00

Taipei, Dec. 20 (CNA) Taiwan is seeking a speedy repatriation for an AWOL military officer detained in the U.K. for illegally staying there, and will arrange for her to meet with Taiwanese diplomatic staff in London if she applies, the foreign ministry said Friday.

A source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) made the remarks after Lt. Emily Yeh, a Military Intelligence Bureau officer who went absent without leave and fled to the U.K. in June 2012 via Thailand, told CNA that she is willing to meet with Taiwanese officials stationed in the U.K.

Yeh admitted in the interview with CNA's London correspondent that she applied for political asylum upon her arrival in the U.K.

Yeh's asylum application is based on the claim that she will face the death penalty if she returns for deserting her post -- a claim which have been rebutted by Taiwan's representative in London and are inconsistent with relevant laws.

In an apparent shift in tone, she told CNA Thursday that she looks forward to returning to Taiwan to reunite with her mother, but would do so only under the condition that she would not be given a prison sentence.

A staff member at the immigration removal center in Bedford where the 33-year-old is being held told CNA that Yeh is allowed to receive visitors.

'If she needs visitors or assistance, our representative office in the U.K. will absolutely send officials to meet her and extend a helping hand,' the MOFA source, who declined to be named, said about Yeh's detention.

According to normal procedures, the source said, Yeh should first inform the British immigration authority of her hope to meet with Taiwan's officials.

'The British authority would then convey her hope to our representative office,' the source explained.

Since Yeh indicated as much in her CNA interview, the source said the ministry will direct the representative office to look into whether Yeh is sincerely seeking the meeting.

(By Tang Pei-chun and Sofia Wu)
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