Taiwan ‘regrets’ Spanish decision to deport Taiwanese fraud suspects to mainland China

Taiwan said on Saturday it “deeply regrets” a decision by the Spanish government to deport to mainland China around 200 Taiwanese nationals suspected of telecom fraud.

The Spanish government said on Friday it had approved the extradition of 269 “Chinese citizens” as part of a year-long investigation into an internet fraud ring operated from several Spanish cities, including Madrid and Barcelona.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said around 200 of the suspects were Taiwanese.

Taiwan “deeply regrets” the decision by the Spanish government “which has infringed upon the rights and interests of our people and ignored the tradition of the EU countries’ emphasis on human rights,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Spanish case is the latest involving Taiwanese abroad suspected of telecom fraud against China being rounded up with mainland Chinese and sent to the mainland.

Last year, Taiwanese suspected of telecom fraud were deported to the mainland, sometimes forcibly, according to the Taiwanese government, from countries including Kenya, Cambodia and Armenia.