Taipei: Taiwan is continuing talks with Cambodia to prevent 179 Taiwanese fraud suspects from being deported to China, a police liaison officer in the region said Thursday. The unnamed Ho Chi Minh City-based liaison officer for Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) stated that negotiations are underway with Cambodian authorities to ensure the suspects are sent to Taiwan instead to face legal consequences.

According to Focus Taiwan, recent Cambodian media reports suggested that the Taiwanese suspects were to be handed over to China as a goodwill gesture to Beijing, which perceives Taiwan as part of its territory. The suspects, who were arrested on March 31 during raids of an online telecommunication fraud center in Phnom Penh, are scheduled to be deported on April 13 along with over 300 Chinese nationals.

The decision regarding the deportation was made ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Cambodia from April 17-18. The Taiwanese suspects were arrested alongside seven alleged Chinese co-conspirators accused of running online fraud schemes, as reported by the Cambodia-China Times.

Figures released by Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) indicate that more than 600 Taiwanese individuals arrested overseas for alleged involvement in telecommunication fraud were deported to China between 2016 and May 2024. The suspects were sent to China instead of Taiwan because most countries where the arrests occurred have extradition treaties with Beijing, according to MAC.