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Cross-strait extradition, hacker attacks to be discussed

ROC Central News Agency

2009/03/30 17:10:26

By Deborah Kuo

Taipei, March 30 (CNA) Affairs pertaining to the extradition of suspects who flee across the Taiwan Strait, as well as cross-strait Internet hacker attacks, are to be discussed during the next round of cross-strait talks, a Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official said Monday.

The two issues will be included on the agenda of the third round of talks between Taiwan's intermediary Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) tentatively scheduled for May, said Liu Te-shun, vice chairman and spokesman of the MAC, Taiwan's top China policy coordinating body.

Liu made the remarks to echo President Ma Ying-jeou, who said earlier in the day that Taiwan will seek to sign extradition treaties with the United States, China and other nations in light of the difficulties experienced in extraditing suspects from one country to another in the absence of such agreements.

He said that the MAC, which oversees SEF operations, has given approval for the SEF to negotiate with ARATS on the issues of daily scheduled cross-Taiwan Strait flights, joint efforts to combat crime, financial cooperation, and the opening of Taiwan to investment from China, in the third round of talks.

Liu said he expects SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung and ARATS President Chen Yunlin to sign an agreement on joint efforts to combat crime, setting the stage for closer cooperation between the two sides on crime fighting and prevention.

He noted that law enforcement authorities from Taiwan and China have repatriated fugitives or convicts from one side to the other under the Kinmen Agreement, signed by the Red Cross societies of Taiwan and China in 1990, but pointed out that the Kinmen Agreement allows only for repatriation rather than extradition.

Liu said judicial officials from the two sides have expressed hope that the content and stipulations of the Kinmen Agreement can be upgraded and expanded to include extradition operations, judicial cooperation and exchanges of intelligence and evidence.

He added that issues concerning Internet hacking and telecommunications fraud must be discussed in the upcoming Chiang-Chen talks, citing a recent New York Times report that quoted Canadian researchers as saying that a massive global computer spy network known as GhostNet and based in China, has compromised more than 1,295 computers in 103 countries.

Chiang and Chen met twice in 2008 and signed six agreements to allow for closer tourist exchanges and the launch of direct cross-strait chartered flights as well as shipping and postal links.