An international workshop on combating cybercrime co-hosted by Taiwan, the United States and Japan was held virtually Wednesday, featuring experts from the three countries, including those from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
The workshop, which was titled "Combating Cybercrime through International Law Enforcement Collaboration," was joined by 320 police, judicial and law enforcement officials around the world, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), one of the co-hosts.
It was held to enhance cross-border cooperation on the issue especially as Taiwan is unable to participate in the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) for political reasons.
The other co-hosts of the event were the Ministry of Interior (MOI), which is in charge of police affairs in Taiwan; the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association (JTEA); and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), MOFA said in a press release.
AIT and JTEA represent U.S. and Japan's interests in Taiwan, respectively, in the absence of official diplomatic ties.
In his address, Deputy Foreign Minister Harry Tseng (???) said cybersecurity is national security for Taiwan and the government is taking measures to cultivate talents in the area and is expanding international cooperation on this issue since it requires cross-border efforts.
Taiwan is hoping that it can participate in Interpol to play a more active role in jointly safeguarding global security, he added.
Meanwhile, AIT Deputy Director Jeremy Cornforth highlighted in his address that cybersecurity is a shared challenge that requires a whole-of-society approach.
"We must work with our partners like Taiwan and Japan to take a proactive and comprehensive approach to reduce and protect against cybercrime," he said.
Although Taiwan is prevented from participating in Interpol and many other international organizations, Cornforth said Wednesday's event would highlight the ways that Taiwan is sharing its expertise with the international community and vice versa to tackle the shared challenge of cybercrime.
The Republic of China, which is Taiwan's official name, joined Interpol in 1961, but was forced to withdraw due to the entry of the People's Republic of China in 1984. Interpol has since denied Taiwan the right to participate, citing a resolution accepting China as a member that was passed at the 53rd General Assembly in the same year.
Wednesday's workshop was part of the Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) launched by Taiwan and the U.S. in June 2015 to help bring Taiwan's expertise to the global stage and promote multilateralism, as China continued its efforts to limit Taiwan's international participation. Japan joined the platform in 2019 as a full partner.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel