Taipei, Dec. 13 (CNA) Eleven diplomatic allies of the Republic of China (Taiwan) have voiced their support for the country's participation in the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Thursday.
Speaking during a press briefing, Jeffery Wang from MOFA's Department of International Organization said the 11 allies separately sent letters to Interpol Secretary-General Jurgen Stock asking the organization to arrange for Taiwan's participation before Interpol's 87th General Assembly, held Nov. 18-21 in Dubai.
The 11 allies are Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Solomon Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, eSwatini, Paraguay, Haiti and Marshall Islands.
The letters were sent after Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) Commissioner Tsai Tsan-po sent a letter to Stock in September asking that the bureau be allowed to participate as an observer in Dubai and to play a meaningful role in the organization's activities and operational mechanisms.
After Interpol refused the request, support for Taiwan's inclusion continued to emerge, Wang said.
During the assembly, representatives of Honduras, Paraguay, Belize and Solomon Islands visited Stock to ask the organization to arrange for Taiwan's participation as soon as possible, Wang said.
According to the representatives, Stock responded by only saying "yes" to the visitors, without further elaboration.
Meanwhile, like-minded countries like the United States, United Kingdom and France have also voiced their support for Taiwan's meaningful participation in Interpol, Wang went on.
Kim Jong-yang, the newly elected president of Interpol, also said he is willing to offer assistance so that Taiwan's voice can be held in Interpol, but he admitted that his hands are tied since the admission issue is the responsibility of the general secretariat.
Established in 1923, Interpol is the world's largest international police organization, with 192 member countries. Taiwan was an Interpol member as the Republic of China until 1984, when it was replaced by the People's Republic of China.
Interpol told CNA clearly in October that it considers China to be the sole Chinese representative to the organization and is not in favor of Taiwan's efforts to seek participation.
