TAIPEI: Taiwan and the mainland will study joint efforts to combat cross-boundary crimes during the next round of cross-Straits talks, a Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official said yesterday.

The extradition of criminal suspects and joint operations against Internet hacker attacks, among other things, are to be discussed when presidents of Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation and the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits meet for talks.

MAC "deputy minister" Liu Te-shun made the remarks in Taipei on the sidelines of the 10th Asia-Pacific annual conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Taiwan and the mainland could focus on drug crimes, weapon smuggling and currency counterfeiting in working together to combat crime, said Henry Lee, an internationally renowned US forensic scientist.

Delivering a speech at the police conference, Lee said though the mainland is absent from the meeting, cross-Straits ties are improving.

Also at the conference, Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou said Taiwan is negotiating an extradition treaty with the US in order to combat new trends in crimes.

Ma said Taiwan is pursuing a similar agreement with the mainland.

Ma said that theft cases on Taiwan declined 15 percent and cases involving violence and assault are down by 20 percent over the last two years. Fraud and bicycle thefts have been on the rise however. Along with a free-trade agreement and a visa-waiver program, an extradition treaty is one of the key items of Ma's US-relations agenda.

Currently, Taiwan and the US repatriate suspects of violent crimes and illegal immigration but not those charged with financial crimes.

It is believed that the US and the mainland have been the favorite hiding places of Taiwan fugitives.

The issue re-emerged recently because of "ex-president" Chen Shui-bian's graft trial.

One of the suspects, former hospital administrator Huang Fang-yen, left for the US last November and has not returned. He was listed a fugitive earlier this month.

Huang is believed to hold key evidence in the case against Chen and his testimony could be vital at trial.

Some have suggested the government arrange an exchange of Huang for Mark Lee Kaczmarczyk, an alleged child molester nabbed in Taiwan on a notice from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 03/31/2009 page1)