Taiwan issued a protest to Beijing Thursday over a decision by Indonesia to deport 22 Taiwanese fraud suspects to China, the latest such deportation to hit the island amid frosty cross-strait ties.

The move comes days after Indonesian police said they had busted a sprawling $450 million cyber fraud ring targeting wealthy businessmen and politicians in China.

Taiwan's foreign ministry said its deported nationals were among 143 Chinese and Taiwanese suspects arrested in raids on July 29 in various locations including Jakarta, the city of Surabaya and on the resort island of Bali.

In a statement the ministry said Jakarta had ignored Taipei's request that the Taiwanese suspects be returned to the island and instead sent them to the mainland cities of Chengdu and Tianjin on Thursday.

"China continues to forcibly take Taiwanese to the mainland, completely ignoring our gestures of goodwill and appeal," the Mainland Affairs Council -- Taiwan's official body handling China relations -- said in a statement.

"This is detrimental for investigation into cross-border crimes, and it also affects positive development of cross-strait relations," it said.

Indonesian authorities declined to specify the suspects' nationalities.

"This morning we sent back 143 people who were suspected for cybercrime using two planes to China," immigration spokesman Agung Sampurno told AFP.

"(They) have been sent back using emergency travel document issued by the Chinese embassy, so logically they are Chinese," he said, adding the planes the suspects were put on were prepared by the Chinese government.

Taiwan's foreign ministry said it had directed its Jakarta office to lodge a protest with the Indonesian government.

The incident is the latest of several international deportations of Taiwanese suspects to China since Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen came to power last May.

Beijing distrusts Tsai, who has refused to recognise the island as part of "one China".

China sees the island as a breakaway province to be brought back within its fold.

Under former China-friendly president Ma Ying-jeou, suspects would usually have been deported back to Taiwan as part of informal arrangements between crimefighting agencies in China, Taiwan, and countries where the fraudsters are operating.

Just last week, Cambodia deported seven Taiwanese suspects implicated in another telecoms fraud case to China.

In February, Spain sent more than 200 Taiwanese suspects to China despite Taipei's protest.

Tweet

China slams US defence bill over Taiwan provision
Beijing (AFP) July 17, 2017
China on Monday said it had lodged an official protest with the United States following the passage of a defence spending bill that could lead to American warships visiting Taiwan. Beijing has long objected to any military assistance from Washington to the self-governed island, which it considers a breakaway province. "China firmly opposes any forms of official exchange and military cont ... read more

Related Links
Taiwan News at SinoDaily.com

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only