Spokesman urges cross-Strait cooperation in telecom fraud crackdown

The Chinese mainland and Taiwan should strengthen cooperation in fighting telecom fraud to safeguard the rights and interests of victims and bring all who commit fraud to justice, a mainland spokesman said Wednesday.

These crimes have caused tremendous economic loss as well as physical and psychological harm to people on both sides, An Fengshan, spokesperson for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, said at a news conference.

"We'll handle the cases in strict accordance with the law and protect the property safety and legitimate rights and interests of people across the Strait," said An, referring to an investigation of 45 Taiwan suspects who were deported from Kenya to the Chinese mainland for their involvement in telecom fraud two weeks ago.

The deportation sparked debate about the legal jurisdiction rights of judicial organs on the mainland over the repatriated suspects in Taiwan.

"The so-called 'statement' by Taiwan's legislative body is completely groundless, confusing truth and falsehood with disregard for the victims' rights and interests," said the spokesman in response to a request for comment on protests against the deportation.

"It conveyed an obvious message of 'one country on each side' with designs to cause confrontation and destroy the status quo across the Strait," he said, adding the move is against the will of people on both sides and damaged the foundation for cross-Strait cooperation in cracking down on crimes and for the development of cross-Strait relations.

A delegation from Taiwan arrived in Beijing on April 20 to discuss the cases of the 45 Taiwan suspects with mainland police.

Members of the delegation visited Beijing's Haidian District detention center, where the suspects are detained, to see how they are treated on the mainland, according to An.

"We'll fully protect the legal rights of all suspects and assist their relatives in visiting them," the spokesman added. Endi