The China Post
Date: September 8, 2016
By: The China Post news staff

Taipei protested after Armenia Wednesday deported 78 Taiwanese to mainland China instead of Taiwan in the latest cross-strait row over phone fraud suspect jurisdiction.

Both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), in press statements released after the deportation, lodged a “stern protest,” the former directed against the Armenian government and the latter against Beijing.

The MOFA said it had not been notified by Armenia before the deportation, which it said was against the suspects’ will.

“We demand the Armenian government give a reasonable explanation,” MOFA stated.

The MAC said it had many times called on Beijing to not extradite Taiwanese suspects to China, but the latest row showed that such calls had been ignored again.

“(The Armenia case) has again undermined the cross-strait foundation of mutual trust in fighting phone fraud crimes,” said MAC. “It has again hurt the feelings of the Taiwanese people.”

The suspects have been detained since Aug. 26 and their passports seized by Armenian police.     [FULL  STORY]