Taiwan no longer 'fugitives' paradise'

Ye Yanrong suspected of embezzling money was captured in Taiwan and handed over to the public security department of the mainland on Dec. 17. According to media reports, Ye was the first economic crime suspect repatriated from Taiwan to the mainland. Both sides of the Taiwan Strait are gradually expanding the scope of judicial cooperation and Taiwan is no longer the "fugitives' paradise".

The cross-Strait mutual judicial assistance had undergone a long process and the institutional deficiency had left gray space for criminals in the past. All of the institutional improvements benefit from the wills of the people.

The cross-Strait cooperation in fighting crimes began from the "Jinmen Agreement" signed by the Red Cross societies of the both sides in 1990. The agreement was only applicable for criminal suspects and the repatriation of them must be carried out through non-government organizations. As the judicial departments of both sides did not establish a direct contact, many cases are still unresolved.

The calls for institutional construction of cross-Strait mutual judicial assistance had not got a response until 2009 when the Red Crosses societies of both sides signed the Agreement on Joint Cross-Strait Crime-fighting and Mutual Judicial Assistance.

Why does it take such a long time to realize the cross-Strait mutual judicial assistance? Because agreements related to both sides including the Agreement on Joint Cross-Straits Crime-fighting and Mutual Judicial Assistance were impossible under the distorted thinking models of "desensitization" and "cultural independence" when Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian were in office.

Since 2008, the cross-Strait relationship has undergone a major change followed by the signing the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, the Agreement on Joint Cross-Strait Crime-fighting and Mutual Judicial Assistance and the Cross-strait Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement. The signing of these agreements is no doubt the tangible results of cross-Strait "peace dividend." Therefore, we should feel happy and confident and also cherish the hard-won results.