Taipei says Beijing has kidnapped eight Taiwanese citizens from Kenya. File photo: AFP
Taiwan has accused the mainland of kidnapping eight Taiwanese who had been cleared of criminal charges by a court in Kenya, and has demanded their immediate return.
The alleged abduction -- described by Taiwan's foreign ministry as "illegal" and "uncivilised" -- posed a potential challenge to president-elect Tsai Ing-wen, who takes office next month.
Kenyan authorities in November 2014 arrested 28 Taiwanese along with 49 other ethnic Chinese on charges of illegally entering the African state and being involved in an telecoms scam, the Taiwanese foreign ministry said in a statement.
A first group of 37 suspects, among them 23 Taiwan citizens, was found not guilty by a Kenyan court on Tuesday last week. But eight of the 23 Taiwanese, were deported to the mainland by Kenyan authorities last Friday due to Beijing’s pressure, it said.
Taiwan has no diplomatic ties with Kenya, which recognises the government in Beijing. Its nearest diplomat is based in the South African capital.
The ministry said Beijing used "technical methods" to delay news of the Kenyan court's verdict. "By the time our official rushed to the airport, the eight Taiwan citizens had been forcefully taken to a passenger plane of China Southern Airlines and sent to the mainland," it said. "The illegal and uncivilised measures have severely infringed upon the fundamental human rights of the eight people."
The ministry demanded that the mainland immediately return the eight to Taiwan, and called on Kenyan authorities to free the other 15 acquitted Taiwanese.
Asked to comment on the row, a foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing, Lu Kang, said: "We need to check on the details, but we need to note that the One China policy should be upheld."
In 2011, authorities returned 14 Taiwanese suspected in a major fraud case after the Philippines had deported them to the mainland. That came after nearly four months of efforts to secure their return.
http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1253825-20160411.htm
