Mainland tourist held over Taiwan relic theft

The Ministry of Public Security has confirmed that a mainland tourist who is suspected to have stolen a rare military decoration when he traveled to Jinmen Island near Fujian province has been detained, and that the relic was recovered.

"Traffic police detained a 77-year-old man at Shandong train station on a train heading to Harbin in Heilongjiang province from Xiamen," said a statement the ministry provided to China Daily on Wednesday.

The ministry said it is working closely with police in Taiwan, and have reached consensus about a detailed judicial procedure.

"Under the agreement, mainland police will investigate and prosecute the robber based on the country's Criminal Law, and Taiwan police will assist in providing surveillance records as evidence," the statement said. "After the criminal proceedings, the recovered military decoration will be returned to Taiwan as soon as possible."

Taiwan media reported that Qiao Zhaoqing, the 77-year-old suspect, is a Heilongjiang resident who was on a 40-person tour group leaving for Taiwan on April 29, and he visited the island as the last stop on the trip.

The stolen decoration - awarded to late general Hu Lian in 1943 for his leadership and courage during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) - had been sealed in a display case in Juguang Tower, the symbol of Jinmen Island and a popular tourist spot.

"After watching the surveillance video, it seems the suspect used a screwdriver to release two of the four screws, but he didn't leave any crime tool at the spot. The crime lasted for 2 minutes and 20 seconds," according to Tsai Tsang-po, director-general of the Jinmen police bureau.

The Order of Blue Sky and White Sun with Grand Cordon, the second-highest military award of the Kuomingtang party, was one of only 209 awarded.

Its market price is estimated at NT$8 million ($273,000), according to the Taiwan-based newspaper, The China Post.

"The theft aroused widespread concern, and we set up a special investigation team to handle it, and immediately reported it to the Taiwan Criminal Bureau," Tsai said.

Meanwhile, they faxed the theft dossier and suspect's departure information to the ministry, and asked for assistance to capture Qiao on the mainland.

"We attached great importance to the police intelligence from Taiwan and confirmed Qiao was on the train leaving for Harbin from Xiamen after contacting the travel agency," the statement said.

On Tuesday, Beijing traffic police sent by the ministry boarded the train to investigate when it stopped in Shandong, and seized the relic in Qiao's baggage at the scene, according to the statement.

Dai Peng, director of the criminal investigation department under the Chinese People's Public Security University, said that police on the mainland and their counterparts from Taiwan established judicial cooperation in criminal cases, including assisting in investigations and collecting evidence, as well as repatriation of suspects.

"With the development of economic and trade exchanges between the two, it's inevitable more criminal cases will occur, and police from both sides should pay attention to strengthening intelligence and exchanging information to prevent similar cases from happening," Dai said.

"Moreover, the border inspection and customs departments should also fully perform their duties, and gain some knowledge to distinguish between ordinary souvenirs and precious cultural relics," he added.

Zhou Huiying in Harbin contributed to this story.