A Chinese Embassy official Gao Yu (right) attempts in vain to persuade Taiwan’s representative to South Africa John Chen (left) to give up on a case in which Chinese and Taiwan Nationals have been jointly charged with illegal use of telecommunications equipment’s in Kenya at Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi on Tuesday July 26,2016.
BY SAM ALFAN.
China and Taiwan governments representative yesterday engaged in a heated confrontation in court.
Chinese official attempted to persuade his Taiwan counterpart Mr John Chen to give up on a case in which Chinese and Taiwan Nationals have been jointly charged with illegal use of telecommunications equipments in Kenya.
The two officials were seen engaging each other in tough conversation in the corridors of Nairobi Magistrate courts and further outside the Milimani law courts.
Taiwan has objected a move where its citizens were deported to China instead of their country.
China has announced that the group of Taiwanese citizens, deported to China from Kenya will be prosecuted on charges of telecommunications fraud.
The move escalated to a diplomatic battle that has outraged Taiwan, which sees the deportation of its citizens to China as an extrajudicial abduction.
Taiwanese citizens arrived in Beijing hooded and handcuffed.
Mr Chen told a news conference in Nairobi they had been acquitted by the Chief Magistrate’s court and ordered deported to their country.
Contrary to the order, he said the foreigners were forcefully removed from police cells and whisked away to Jomo Kenyatta Airport en-route to China.
In china, the Taiwanese have been imprisoned.
Efforts to have the Taiwanese released from China prisons have bore no fruit.
Mr Chen said that the extra-legal deportations took place as Taiwan government appealed to have the deportation halted until proper arrangement were made to have their citizens taken back to their country of origin.
