Shirking Responsibility is the Cheapest Means of Government
United Daily News, August 21, 2022
As our people were trapped in Cambodia by scams groups. Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu was desirous of using “anti-China” banner to cover up the ineptitude of the government simply by blaming the legacy of China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” from which Chinese fraud group trapped Taiwanese into suffering. His remarks were of no avail to rescue those entrapped Taiwanese in Cambodia anxiously looking for help or to those Taiwanese scam suspects to be brought home for justice.
Communist China proposed its “Belt and Road Initiative” in 2013. But for more than half a century, the government of Cambodia did little for its national development. Not only are its education and medical service in dire condition, but the issue of human trafficking has also been neglected. Under the glamour of tourism, Cambodia has long been a nation rich in black history. In fact, without China or the Belt and Road Initiative, Cambodia is still a hotbed for all crimes. The Belt and Road Initiative is not the cause of today’s Cambodia, it is only the pretext of shirking responsibility of the inept administration of President Tsai Ing-wen.
Making inroad into overseas by Taiwanese scam groups was not begun today, but the situation is not what it used to be. On June 12, 2011, our Criminal Investigation Bureau, Ministry of Justice, cooperated with mainland Chinese police authorities in cracking down international scam activities. A total of 122 Taiwanese scam suspects were brought home flying from Cambodia via Macao to Taiwan in a chartered plane, seemingly a Taiwanese version of “prison in the air.” At that time, those members of Taiwan and mainland Chinese scam groups “were taken back by their respective police officials.” This mode of cooperation derived from the “Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement” of 2009.
From the second half of 2021, news of Taiwanese seduced by high salaries and entrapped in Cambodia scam camps where they were tortured, detained and resold have become well-publicized. Swarms of Taiwanese flew to Cambodia to “pursue their dreams,” our government received reports of such scam cases early this year, numerous meetings were held among authorities concerned on discussing rescuing those Taiwanese entrapped in Cambodia, but some heads of the authorities concerned were not willing to face this problem. Our diplomatic isolation makes such official rescue action even more difficult.
Cambodia always insists its “One China” policy, and there is no office established by our government in Cambodia. Official power is difficult to exert, we must unite local Taiwanese businessmen and private force there to organize rescue task to achieve the purpose. But to those assisting rescuing task civil force, our government first labeled them as red (pro-China), even downgraded their unofficial background to cover up the poor rescue and poor preparation of the government dilemma.
The legacy of the Belt and Road Initiative, a phrase coined by Minister Wu, again shoulders high the “anti-China,” “defend Taiwan” banner and blames the case on China to shirk responsibility. Those human trafficking groups in Cambodia are majorly organized by mainland Chinese, Taiwanese and Malaysian international fraud groups. Minister Wu's mention of the Chinese crime group is only part of the facts. Doesn't it signify that at this juncutre, cross-strait cooperation in cracking down these fraud groups is all the more critical?
Shirking responsibility is the cheapest means. For the time being, Taiwan is shrouded under the shadow of international fraud groups, what we need least is the government to take the lead of “cognitive warfare.”