BEIJING (AP) – Taiwanese officials have protested Malaysia’s deportation of 32 of the self-ruled island’s nationals to China this weekend to face wire fraud charges, the latest in a series of disputes that has raised new friction between China and Taiwan.
The deportation follows the sending of nearly four dozen Taiwanese from Kenya to China last month, a case some experts and observers see as an attempt by Beijing to bully the island that it claims as its own territory.
Chinese authorities have said they need to crack down on perpetrators of phone scams that have resulted in an estimated 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) of losses each year. Scammers posing as officials from the police, government, banks or insurance companies convince their victims to transfer funds or provide personal information that can be used to steal from them.
The Taiwanese Cabinet, in a statement late Saturday, said that China pressured Malaysia to deport the Taiwanese wire fraud suspects to the mainland against Taiwan’s wishes.
The island’s foreign ministry lodged a protest with Malaysia for taking that action despite Taiwanese officials’ efforts to negotiate, and said the deportations would hurt relations.