By Sam Garcia / Staff writer, with CNA
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday evening issued a statement expressing gratitude to government agencies, parliament members, international organizations and individuals from more than 70 countries for voicing their support for Taiwan to join the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
Interpol’s 92nd General Assembly took place from Monday to Thursday last week in Glasgow, Scotland.
Lawmakers from South Korea, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Latvia, Estonia, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, as well as members of Formosa clubs, sent letters to Interpol’s secretary-general and president calling for Taiwan’s participation in Interpol, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ logo is pictured in an undated photograph.
Photo: Taipei Times
Delegation heads from Belize, Eswatini, the Marshall Islands, Palau, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines also sent videos supporting Taiwan’s participation, it said.
The European Parliament, Czech Republic Parliament, Dutch House of Representatives, Saint Kitts and Nevis National Assembly and the Legislature of Guam all passed resolutions supporting Taiwan’s participation in Interpol, the ministry added.
The international community has been voicing its support for Taiwan in several ways this year, it said.
The G7 Summit reaffirmed “support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations” in its leaders’ communique, the ministry said, adding that the joint statements from talks between Australia and the UK’s defense ministers, as well as those between Australia and France, also emphasized support for Taiwan’s international participation.
Representative offices of like-minded countries have also shown their support through posts on social media, it said.
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) reposted Taiwan’s promotional video on its official Facebook page to support Taiwan’s international participation and promote cooperation for global safety, the ministry said, adding that the Australia Office Taipei also posted videos of Taiwan on social media, calling on the global community to cooperate in fighting transnational crime.
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, the Australian Senate, the Canadian House of Commons, the Italian Chamber of Deputies and the Guatemalan Congress all passed resolutions supporting Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, it added.
There have been 195 articles about Taiwan, including one by Criminal Investigation Bureau Director-General Chou Yu-wei (周幼偉), published by more than 10 media outlets in the US, Japan, South Korea, India, Italy, Spain, Poland and Latvia this year, the ministry said.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau’s video promoting Taiwan, Borderline Operations, had more than 2.81 million views on social media platforms, while related posts reached more than 235,000 people, the ministry said.
Taiwan’s exclusion from Interpol hinders efforts to maintain global security and affects the well-being of people in all countries, it said.
Taiwan is willing and able to cooperate with the international community in combating transnational crime and urges Interpol to integrate Taiwan into the global law enforcement network, the ministry said.
