Taiwan 'dissatisfied' after China repatriates 10 Taiwanese nationals convicted of fraud on 'short notice'

Taiwan officials have expressed "dissatisfaction" on Dec. 4 following the repatriation of 10 Taiwanese nationals convicted of fraud in China.

According to Focus Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) deputy chief and spokesperson Liang Wen Chieh said that Chinese authorities did not handle the case "with a still-effective cross-strait agreement".

As of September 2025, a total of 873 Taiwanese implicated in fraud cases are either in detention, undergoing prosecution or trial, or already serving sentences in China.

China had reportedly notified Taiwan of the extradition with a "shorter notice than usual" which left the 10 Taiwanese nationals initially unable to board the ferry to Kinmen due to lack of legal documents, reported The Taipei Times.

China informed Taiwan of repatriation "on short notice"

Liang had responded to a media report about the repatriation of 10 Taiwanese on Dec. 3, who were previously arrested in Cambodia for fraud and later jailed in China.

They were deported via ferry from Xiamen to Kinmen, a Taiwan-controlled island county off Fujian province in China.

According to The Taipei Times, four of the 10 people were wanted and convicted in Taiwan for committing fraud and money laundering.

Liang said that China had notified Taiwan "with shorter notice than usual" in regards to the extradition, and the 10 individuals were initially unable to board the ferry as they did not have the proper legal documents to enter Taiwan.

However, they were later allowed to board following identity checks and "precautionary safety measures" in Taiwan.

Taiwan "dissatisfied", 873 Taiwanese nationals involved in fraud cases

"In the past, the matter was handled with fixed channels of operation," Liang said.

He added that the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement stipulates that both sides should agree in advance on the timing and method of extradition.

"Although we are dissatisfied, we still have to deal with the issue in a pragmatic way, so we allowed the 10 individuals to board the vessel back to Kinmen," he said, as quoted by Focus Taiwan.

According to the MAC, 873 Taiwanese nationals were involved in fraud cases who are at different points in the legal process in China, including detention, trial, and incarceration as of Sep. 18, 2025.

In April 2025, Reuters reported that Cambodia deported an unspecified number of Taiwanese nationals to China after they were arrested for working in telecom fraud operations.

Cambodia had detained 180 Taiwanese suspected of involvement in fraud centres and deported nearly 190 individuals at the request of the Chinese government.

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