Political parties and media outlets from Chinese Mainland and Taiwan have denounced a telecom fraud case, and said the suspects must be brought to justice. This is after Taiwan police on Saturday released 20 suspects who were deported from Malaysia. Meanwhile, experts and authorities are calling for the two sides to not politicize the issue.
In a move that has triggered public outcry, Taiwan released 20 suspects in a telecom fraud case, citing a lack of evidence.
Malaysia deported the 20 suspects, who were part of a group of 53 Taiwan people it arrested in March on suspicion of fraud.
Meanwhile, Taiwan has been infuriated by the repatriation of 45 Taiwan people, who are also on suspicion of telecom fraud, to Chinese Mainland from Africa .
Criminal experts are calling for a cooling down of tensions.
"If political interests get too much in the way of a criminal case, I don't think it will be good for the cross-strait fight against fraud. If Taiwan and the Mainland don't communicate, then we will become each other's misfortune. For example, when Taiwan chases down the suspects, they will go hide in the Mainland, and vice versa. Then there will be no solution. So I think we need to look at the case in a more rational light," said Ye Yulam, sec.-gen. of Asian Association of Police Studies.
Official data shows boiler rooms run by scammers from Taiwan were responsible for over 50 percent of telecom fraud in Chinese Mainland.
Hung Hsiu-chu, the newly-elected chair of the Kuomintang, warned that Taiwan should avoid becoming known as an "exporter of fraud rings."
Meanwhile, Taiwan police are calling for closer cooperation to settle the case.
"We received intelligence that the Mainland is holding some evidence against the 20 suspects repatriated from Malaysia. We hope the two sides can fight this war together," said Wu Rongkai, Taiwan Criminal Police Bureau.
Police authorities also said the goal for both sides is to prevent such frauds from happening again in the future.
