At the end of July, mainland China announced the formal establishment of the “International Alliance to Combat Telecom and Internet Fraud” in September. More than 40 countries have expressed their participation. Although Taiwan is excluded, the Taiwan Police Agency sent representatives to Thailand in July to attend a high-level summit hosted by the US FBI, where they discussed combating transnational fraud with 18 other countries. LIN,SHU-LI, Assistant Professor of the Department of Criminal Justice at Ming Chuan University, pointed out that the formation of anti-fraud alliances by mainland China and the US raises concerns that Taiwan’s room for maneuver will be limited in this new duopoly, potentially leading to further marginalization.<\/p>\n
The soon-to-be-established “International Alliance to Combat Telecom and Internet Fraud” is positioned as an intergovernmental international organization with broad participation from law enforcement agencies of various countries, possessing coordination capabilities and professionalism. Adhering to the principles of “consultation, joint construction, and shared benefits,” it aims to strengthen intelligence sharing, joint law enforcement, capacity building, and case investigation cooperation to improve the effectiveness of combating cross-border telecom fraud.<\/p>\n
A few days before China announced the establishment of an international anti-fraud alliance, FBI Director Battier also convened a summit in Thailand with representatives from 19 countries, including Taiwan.<\/p>\n
Batttier stated that in just 16 months, FBI-led anti-fraud operations had seized $15.2 billion, arrested hundreds of criminals, dismantled dozens of fraud centers, and eradicated multiple human trafficking groups.<\/p>\n
Lin Shu-li stated that Taiwan’s efforts to participate in Interpol as an observer have been repeatedly hindered by political factors. This has resulted in Taiwan possessing world-class anti-fraud technology but struggling to obtain timely international intelligence and formally join multinational joint operations. This predicament may be further marginalized by China’s efforts to woo the alliance.<\/p>\n
Lin Shu-li said that the US-led mechanism cannot replace formal, regular international cooperation channels. Worse still, cross-strait relations have impacted law enforcement cooperation, not only bringing cross-strait anti-fraud efforts to a standstill but also making cooperation between Taiwan and other countries more difficult.<\/p>\n
He stated frankly that Taiwan’s real challenges lie in international cooperation regarding cross-border intelligence exchange, judicial assistance, and financial transaction tracing; he called for setting aside political differences and resuming substantive cross-strait cooperation in combating fraud, noting that both mainland China and the United States need Taiwan’s experience in combating fraud.<\/p>\n
Central Police University Professor Hsu, Fu-shen stated that Taiwan should continue to strengthen cooperation with like-minded countries, international financial institutions, and digital platforms to establish a cross-agency, cross-sectoral, and cross-border anti-fraud collaboration system, enabling a decisive battle against fraud online and overseas.<\/p>\n