Taiwan offers help in combating cybercrime 'challenging sovereignty of nations'

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Taiwan is willing to share its experience in solving online crimes because telecommunications and cyber fraud have challenged nations' sovereignty and undermined livelihoods, economies, and law and order, a senior official said.

“Taiwan is keen to exchange intelligence with partners and assist other countries in staving off threats from overseas and combating organized crime within their borders,” said Hsi-ho Li, commissioner of the Criminal Investigation Bureau.

In a statement to Anadolu Agency on Thursday, Li said online fraud is disrupting people’s livelihoods in the post-pandemic era.

"The digital financial services that have developed from these activities are an easy target for criminal organizations and have also made investigating crime more difficult for the police," he said, citing an increase in internet usage due to pandemic-forced home-based work.

He said Taiwan reported fraud-related losses of NT$5.61 billion (approximately $186 million) last year.

“It indicated that fraud has seriously damaged national economic development. There is little doubt that fraud poses a formidable challenge to countries worldwide,” he said, offering international cooperation to tackle cyber fraud.

This year, the commissioner said, many Taiwanese citizens were “held against their will and forced to engage in fraudulent activities in Cambodia, the Philippines, the UAE, and other countries by illegal organizations set up by Chinese nationals.”

“International cooperation is urgently needed to rescue the victims and fight such crimes,” he added.

Taiwanese authorities last year in collaboration with Vietnamese police “cracked down on a fraud ring in Taiwan,” while joint operations with Montenegro in 2020 and with Türkiye last year resulted in a clamp down on organized crime involving perpetrators, victims, and locations in multiple countries.

“No place should be overlooked in fighting the pandemic or tackling crime. The international community can count on Taiwan,” Li said.