Kenya extradition case, seen as slight by Taiwan, was really Beijing cock-up

Taiwan is trying to occupy a higher moral ground in the eyes of world opinion. However, among the many unpleasant realities the Taiwan government, legislature, and general public need to ponder is why so many Taiwanese are involved in organized crime abroad. Moreover, Taiwan has not been a reliable partner in prosecuting such crimes. Granted, evidentiary standards are arguably higher and presumption of innocence is taken more seriously in Taiwan, but the problem is there. As local politicians admitted this week while attempting to craft new laws, Taiwan has routinely been giving accused fraudsters light sentences or even releasing them as soon as they arrive. To underscore that criticism, this week 20 alleged scammers from Malaysia were repatriated to Taiwan, and promptly released for "lack of evidence".

 

Beijing naturally argues that the case is purely matter of seeking justice for wrongdoing on Chinese citizens. It may have a point. This is not an isolated event. Cases where Taiwanese and Chinese citizens have faced charges for phone scams directed from third countries at victims in China, Taiwan, and Chinese-speaking communities across the Indo-Pacific region, are fairly common. One could cynically argue that these are some of the tangible fruits of Cross-Strait cooperation: gangs find it easier to work together. In this respect, comparisons to the "mysterious" disappearance of Hong Kong booksellers and their expected reappearance in custody of Chinese police are unfortunate. These are two different issues. The proper context is not missing booksellers, but China's ruthless pursuit of phone scammers across Southeast Asia for the last several years.

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https://taiwan-in-perspective.com/2016/04/20/no-ulterior-motive-taiwanese-extradition-case-was-just-badly-handled-by-beijing/