As the Co-Chairs of the British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group, we have for many years supported Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organisations where Taiwan can make concrete contributions, including INTERPOL. Therefore, we were dismayed to learn that Taiwan has yet to be invited to participate in the upcoming 88th INTERPOL General Assembly in Chile as an observer due to unnecessary political considerations. We believe this will in turn obstruct the collective interests of the international community.
According to Article 2 of INTERPOL’s Constitution, INTERPOL’s aims are ‘to ensure and promote the widest possible mutual assistance between all criminal police authorities…’ Transnational crime is rampant in today’s globalized world, thus we must establish a reliable and seamless global law enforcement network without gaps. To this end, the cooperation of police authorities from all over the world is indispensable, and Taiwan’s presence is essential to the realization of this objective.
Taiwan has a population of 23.5 million people which exceeds the population of over 100 of the Members of INTERPOL. It is also a major hub for the movement of capital, goods, and people. More than 68.9 million passengers travelled through Taiwan in 2018 alone. Taiwan’s ability in sharing international security intelligence and combatting cross-border crime would contribute to the global security and counter terrorism efforts. Its continued exclusion from INTERPOL undermines the global endeavor to fight terrorism, illicit drugs, telecom fraud, cybercrime, and other new forms of transnational crime, diminishing the effectiveness of the international law enforcement network.
Therefore, we support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in INTERPOL, including in its General Assembly as an observer and in its meetings, mechanisms and activities. We also support Taiwan to gain access to the I-24/7 Global Police Communications System and partake in key training programs, in order to fill the gap in the global security network and create together a safer world.
Nigel Evans MP Lord Rogan