Cross-Straits crime-fighting cooperation yields results

TAIPEI - Cross-Straits cooperation in crime fighting has yielded good results, according to a senior Taiwan official on mainland affairs on Wednesday.

Cooperation has significantly reduced telecommunication and Internet scams in Taiwan, Wang Yu-chi, mainland affairs chief for Taiwan authorities, said at a press conference here.

According to Wang, the island reported 38,802 telecommunication and Internet scam cases in 2009 when the two sides formed a mutual assistance mechanism in crime-fighting. The figure declined to 20,637 in 2012, with the value involved falling to 4.23 billion New Taiwan dollars last year from 10.27 billion New Taiwan dollars in 2009.

Wang said Taiwan this year will prioritize a crackdown on cross-strait drug smuggling and a pyramid selling scheme in the mainland's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The two sides will also enhance cooperation to fight cross-Straits crimes such as infringement of intellectual property rights, smuggling and stowaway problems, Wang added.