October 22, 2022
no.305
The 90th General Assembly of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) was held in New Delhi, India, from October 18 to 21, 2022. Against the backdrop of hybrid digital challenges to global security, Taiwan continued its campaign to participate in the event as an observer. This year, Taiwan’s bid for meaningful participation in INTERPOL garnered even broader international backing. Over 1,375 prominent individuals from 50 countries—including officials from executive branches of government, legislators, transnational parliamentary organizations and influential people—voiced staunch support. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) is greatly encouraged by this development and extends sincere gratitude to the various sectors of the international community that have recognized Taiwan as a contributing stakeholder and have continued to demonstrate friendly support through various means.
This year, in their capacity as members of INTERPOL, 10 of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies wrote letters, spoke out, issued statements, posted messages on social media, and took other concrete actions endorsing Taiwan’s campaign. They called on INTERPOL and the international police community to embrace Taiwan’s participation, emphasizing that only when Taiwan is included can the world effectively combat transnational crime and jointly counter global security threats and challenges.
Like-minded countries have continued to publicly support Taiwan’s bid for meaningful participation in INTERPOL on numerous occasions. Member of the UK Parliament Amanda Milling, while serving as Minister for Asia at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, publicly reaffirmed her consistent stance on Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, including INTERPOL, as did Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Wopke Hoekstra. Moreover, in recognition of Taiwan’s capabilities and valuable contributions to law enforcement, the American Institute in Taiwan’s Taipei Office, the Taipei Office of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, and the Australian Office Taipei posted messages supporting Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations or shared Taiwan’s INTERPOL campaign short film on their official Facebook pages.
Parliamentary support from across the globe has been equally strong. Since the last INTERPOL General Assembly, a number of legislative bodies and organizations have adopted special resolutions friendly to Taiwan, staunchly supporting Taiwan’s participation in INTERPOL and other international organizations. These include the Nitijela of the Marshall Islands; the Czech Senate and the Czech Chamber of Deputies Committee on Foreign Affairs; the Parliament of Wallonia in Belgium; the Senates or Houses of Representatives from 16 US state legislatures; and the US Council of State Governments Eastern Regional Conference. In addition, Representative Gerald Connolly (D-VA), cochair of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, and Representative John Curtis (R-UT) sent a joint letter requesting that the Biden administration help facilitate Taiwan’s participation in INTERPOL. Parliamentary members of Canada, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Fiji, South Africa, Hungary, Ireland, Mexico, and other countries also sent letters to INTERPOL backing Taiwan. Further, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China expressed its continued commitment to assisting with Taiwan’s bid for meaningful participation in INTERPOL and other international organizations. And the European Parliament advocated for Taiwan’s international participation in its annual report on the implementation of the common foreign and security policy, as well as its report on the European Union and the defense of multilateralism.
In order to raise international awareness for Taiwan’s INTERPOL campaign, Commissioner Li, Hsi-ho of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) wrote an op-ed entitled “Taiwan’s participation can strengthen international cooperation to fight transnational telecommunication fraud in the post-pandemic era.” The op-ed and other related articles friendly to Taiwan were published over 85 times in prominent international media outlets, including the Washington Examiner of the United States, Tokyo Shimbun of Japan, Segye Ilbo of the ROK, ThePostOnline of the Netherlands, Nerikes Allehanda of Sweden, Agenzia Nova of Italy, and the Diplomat in Spain. In his op-ed, Commissioner Li emphasized that Taiwan could contribute to the international community by employing advanced technology to fight transnational telecommunications fraud. He urged INTERPOL to include Taiwan and, in cooperation with other countries, help create a safer world together.
For this year’s INTERPOL campaign, Taiwan produced a short film based on the true story of the CIB’s role in bringing an international telecommunications fraud ring to justice. It underscored the fact that Taiwan’s participation in INTERPOL would make the world a safer place, as well as showcasing Taiwan’s professionalism and achievements in combating cross-border crime. The film was posted on MOFA’s Facebook and Twitter accounts to wide acclaim. In addition, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India partnered with India’s World is One News (WION) television channel to produce and broadcast a special program promoting Taiwan’s INTERPOL bid and showcasing Taiwan’s vital role in combating international crime. The program was geared toward participants of the 90th INTERPOL General Assembly and the local community.
MOFA emphasizes that INTERPOL is an essential platform for global law enforcement agency cooperation. As an important and exceptionally capable member of the international police community, Taiwan has a strong interest in contributing to international crime-fighting efforts. MOFA urges INTERPOL to heed appeals from across the international community and promptly include Taiwan. The R.O.C. (Taiwan) government is committed to adhering to the principles of professionalism, pragmatism, and making contributions as it continues to actively promote its INTERPOL campaign and seek to cooperate with the international police community. (E)