Taipei, Oct. 19 (CNA) Six of Taiwan's diplomatic allies have spoken out in support of the country at the just concluded general assembly of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) held in Chile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Saturday.
Interpol hosted its 88th General Assembly in the South American country from Tuesday through Friday. Taiwan, which is currently not a member of the international police organization, had asked to participate as an observer, but the request was ignored.
In a statement, MOFA said the six countries that spoke during the general assembly in support of Taiwan included Belize, eSwatini, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, St. Kitts and Nevis.
Meanwhile, 11 allies also separately sent letters to Interpol President Kim Jong-yang asking the organization to arrange for Taiwan's participation in the run up to Interpol's 88th General Assembly, the ministry said.
The allies are Belize, eSwatini, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Marshall Islands, Paraguay, Nauru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
This year, several other like-minded countries have also shown support for the country, MOFA said, noting that foreign representative offices based in Taiwan, including the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia, have posted comments on their respective Facebook pages lamenting Taiwan's exclusion from Interpol for political reasons.
Among them, the German Institute Taipei said "politicizing law enforcement only creates blank spots and helps criminals," the ministry said.
Meanwhile, MOFA denounced China for claiming that Taiwan was part of its territory and had no right to participate at the annual event as an observer.
Taiwan is not part of and has never been under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China, the ministry reiterated in its statement, highlighting that only the democratically elected government of Taiwan has the right to represent Taiwan's 23 million people on the international stage.
China has no right to interfere in any arrangement involving Taiwan's participation in Interpol, the ministry noted.
Established in 1923, Interpol is the world's largest international police organization, with 194 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.
