A.Background
In 1961, the Republic of China (Taiwan) joined the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) under the name National Central Bureau of the Republic of China. In 1984, when mainland China was admitted to the organization, it set a number of conditions as part of its accession to membership, one of which was that Taiwan must change the name under which it participated to Taiwan, China, and relinquish its right to designate a chief representative to attend meetings and to cast votes. Taiwan determined then to withdraw from the organization. Although Taiwan’s status and rights in Interpol were taken over by mainland China, the General Assembly of the organization demanded that the Executive Committee explore ways of “maintaining cooperation with all the appropriate authorities in that part of the world.”[1]
According to Paragraph (a) of Article 8 of Interpol’s General Regulations, police bodies that are not members of Interpol may take part in meetings as observers when invited to do so by both the host country and the Secretary General. Palestine was given observer status in 2011, and other international organizations, such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police, attend the General Assembly as observers.
According to Article 6 of the Rules of Procedure of the Interpol General Assembly, “Police bodies which are not members of the Organization may be invited to attend General Assembly sessions as observers.” Taiwan’s observer participation in the General Assembly does not involve membership status or sovereignty issues. The goal of participation would be to compensate for Taiwan’s inadequacies in crime-related intelligence, by participating in the meetings and events of Interpol and to enhance interaction between the global community of police.
Taiwan is the world’s 26th largest economy[2] and 19th largest trading nation.[3] With its strategic location connecting Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, Taiwan is a hub for the movement of people, goods, and capital. In 2015, 48,358,520 passengers entered/exited Taiwan airports. Nevertheless, Taiwan has not been able to participate in Interpol-related meetings, protocols, or technical activities since 1984 as a result of the international political situation. Taiwan therefore often has had to obtain international security intelligence indirectly. Consequently, it takes Taiwan much more time to formulate such things as counterterrorism regulations in line with global trend and to enhance its professional capabilities. This has a negative impact on global crime-fighting efforts, which rely on efficiency and access to comprehensive intelligence.
B.The need for Taiwan to join Interpol
Interpol’s mission is to create a more secure world. By bringing together the criminal investigation agencies of different countries, and strengthening cooperation and innovation with regard to police and security issues, Interpol provides access to necessary training, tools, and databases, the better to prevent and combat criminal activity. The terror attacks that happened recently in Belgium, France, and Turkey showed that terrorism remains a major threat that all police agencies must be equipped to handle. Due to information exchanged between the Belgian police and Interpol, suspects in the above-mentioned incident were arrested. This shows that the fight against terrorism requires the contribution of all nations. Taiwan could play a positive role in the global effort to combat terrorism, and ought not to be excluded from it.
Although Taiwan is not a member of Interpol, the Criminal Investigation Bureau of its National Police Agency closely cooperates, through bilateral channels with Interpol members such as the United States, Japan, and Southeast Asian nations, to combat cross-border crime. Even though Taiwan receives important Interpol information forwarded it by friendly nations, such information is neither up-to-date nor complete, which adversely affects Taiwan’s efforts to engage in cross-border cooperation aimed at combating crime and maintaining border security.
Taiwan is also in great need of Stolen and Lost Travel Document (SLTD) information from Interpol, so as to better filter the passport information of foreign tourists. The Interpol SLTD database was, according to estimates, queried some 1.5 billion times in 2015, thanks to which 125,000 instances of illegal usage of travel documents were uncovered. Therefore, we believe access to this database would help our country prevent terrorists from entering Taiwan, or from using it as a transit point on their way to other countries.
Globalization has abetted a rise in cross-border crime. As a result of not being a member of Interpol, Taiwan suffers from a time delay in acquiring and transmitting information, as well as engaging in cross-border cooperation. This has created a gap in the international security network. If Interpol were to invite Taiwan to participate in its meetings, mechanisms, and activities, Taiwan could synchronize its efforts with member states’ police agencies to jointly combat cross-border crime.
This would fill the aforementioned gap and cut off opportunities for criminals. The 2017 Summer Universiade will be held in Taipei, Taiwan. More than 12,000 athletes from all around the world will gather in Taiwan. For the safety of all who attend this grand sporting event, it is necessary for Taiwan to be able to engage in information exchanges with all Interpol members.
C. Taiwan desires to participate in and contribute to Interpol as an observer
The fight against crime extends across national boundaries. Interpol’s Constitution refers to involving “all criminal police authorities,” so as to establish a global public security network and create a cooperation platform for police agencies from around the world. As a member of the international community, Taiwan is ready and willing to participate in such international security organizations as Interpol, so as to make concrete and substantive contributions to the global fight against terrorism and cross-border crime.
Taiwan’s police, as part of the global police forces, has the duty, responsibility, willingness, and capacity to combat crime in coordination with police forces around the world. Since 2009, the nation’s law enforcement has solved 235 transnational crimes, involving fraud, illicit drugs, and human trafficking, and apprehended 12,257 suspects. Taiwan has had repatriated an unprecedented 776 fugitives over the same period. Those cases solved include one involving a international fraud syndicate counterfeiting credit cards that Taiwan cracked in conjunction with the US and other countries in 2016; seizing 1,500 kg of marijuana through the international police cooperation in 2015; and executing Angel Project to combat cyber child pornography with the US and other countries in 2013. Those successful cases of cooperative actions demonstrate our country’s effort and ambition in combating cross-border crimes.
Taiwan hopes to participate in Interpol’s 85th General Assembly—to be held in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2016—as an observer under the name Chinese Taipei. By attending the meeting, Taiwan can directly take part in the sharing of international security intelligence and cooperation on combating terrorism and cross-border crime. We can thereby assist in safeguarding global public security in coordination with the criminal police agencies of other countries.
[1] Report on the 53rd General Assembly of Interpol held in Luxembourg in 1984, page 263
[2] 2014 Annual Report of the World Trade Organization
[3] World Economic Outlook of the International Monetary Fund (April 2015)
