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Taiwan hopes to talk with China on detained nationals this week

ROC Central News Agency

2016/04/18 21:22:02

Taipei, April 18 (CNA) Justice Minister Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪) said Monday that her ministry has set this week as the target for traveling to mainland China to negotiate over 45 Taiwan nationals currently detained there in connection with telephone scams in Kenya.

The 45 Taiwanese suspects in the telecom fraud were deported from Kenya to China April 8 and April 12, respectively, despite strong protests from Taiwan.

Luo told a legislative hearing that Taiwan originally wanted to send a delegation to China on Tuesday, but the Chinese authorities said that the amount of information involved is too great and that the related discussions will take time to arrange, which prompted the delegation to set the target of later this week to make the trip.

The delegation will comprise officials from the Justice Ministry, the Mainland Affairs Council and the semi official Straits Exchange Foundation, as well as the Criminal Investigation Bureau.

Amid reports that Tuesday's trip had been cancelled, Luo said that "from the start, we did not set a specific date, so therefore, there is no question of a cancelation."

Deputy Justice Minister Chen Ming-tang (陳明堂) also said that the ministry has not received information about any cancellation, adding that the exact timing will require further discussion between the two sides.

Luo said before the legislative hearing that the more the legislators bash China over the case, the more drawn-out the proceedings might be.

She said she felt that Beijing might prefer to talk with anti-China people and that the talks could therefore be delayed until after May 20, when the incoming Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will take office.

She said that many people look at things with a biased perspective, and will label anyone who "thinks rationally" as tilting toward China and selling out Taiwan. They can even stoke cross-Taiwan Strait tensions just to make a show of themselves, she said.

She expressed the hope that the good cross-strait cooperation of the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) over the past eight years can be extended to the DPP administration, adding that she has contacted Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), justice minister-designate, who shares this viewpoint and has pledged to discuss the matter with the DPP.

(By You Hsiang-kai and Lilian Wu)
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