臺灣呼籲北京方面釋放肯尼亞遣返者

Taiwan has accused China of abducting eight of its citizens from Kenya as cross-strait relations come under strain before the inauguration next month of a new Taiwanese president who is less friendly to Beijing.

臺灣指控中國大陸從肯尼亞強行押走8名臺灣公民。與北京方面不那麼友好的臺灣新總統將於下個月宣誓就職，眼下臺海兩岸關係正處於緊張狀態。

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said the citizens were deported to China on a Chinese airliner on Friday after being acquitted of phone fraud in Nairobi earlier this month.

臺灣外交部表示，這幾名臺灣公民上週五被一架大陸班機遣送至大陸。本月早些時候，這幾人在內羅畢被宣判電信詐騙罪名不成立。

The foreign ministry accused Beijing of an “uncivilised act of extrajudicial abduction” and called for the release of its citizens. It said on Tuesday that the Kenyan police were trying to deport to China 37 more Taiwanese citizens connected to the case.

臺灣外交部指控北京方面的行爲是“非法擄人的不文明行徑”，並要求大陸釋放其公民。週二，該機構表示肯尼亞警方正試圖將與該案有關的另外37名臺灣公民遣送至中國大陸。

Since their split at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, Beijing has claimed that self-governing Taiwan is one of its provinces.

1949年中國內戰結束時兩岸分裂，自那以來北京方面一直聲稱臺灣是中國的一個省。

Only 22 nations maintain diplomatic relations with Taipei, while the vast majority of countries including Kenya respect Beijing’s “One China” policy by refusing to acknowledge Taiwan as a separate entity.

只有22個國家維持與臺灣的外交關係，包括肯尼亞在內的絕大多數國家則遵重北京方面的“一箇中國”政策，拒絕承認臺灣是一個獨立的實體。

Taiwanese-Chinese phone fraud gangs targeting victims at home have established themselves in a range of overseas territories with weak law enforcement from Southeast Asia to Africa.

以同胞爲目標的中國大陸和臺灣電信詐騙團伙，已經在從東南亞到非洲的多個執法力度較弱的海外地區建立據點。

In a similar case in 2011, the Philippines deported 14 Taiwanese who were suspected of involvement in phone fraud to China. They were returned to Taiwan after several months of negotiations between Beijing and Taipei, which signed an agreement on joint crime-fighting and cross-strait judicial assistance in 2009.

在2011年的一宗類似案件中，菲律賓曾將14名涉嫌捲入電信詐騙的臺灣人遣送至中國大陸。經過北京和臺北幾個月的磋商，這些人被送返臺灣。臺海兩岸曾在2009年簽署一份共同打擊犯罪和兩岸司法互助的協議（文首圖爲臺灣立委陳亭妃展示一份兩岸司法協議）。

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, which manages relations with Beijing, said the Kenyan deportations “ignore the rapport built between both sides since 2011 when dealing with similar cases”.

負責與北京方面關係的臺灣陸委會(Mainland Affairs Council)表示，肯尼亞遣送事件“罔顧雙方自100年（即公元2011年，譯者注）起處理類似案例所建立之默契”。

Given that the eight deportees were found not guilty by the Kenyan court, it said their transfer to China “violates the basic rights of our people” and that “the mainland side should take full responsibility of the serious impact on the cross-strait relationship”.

陸委會表示，考慮到8名被驅逐者已獲肯尼亞法庭宣告無罪，他們被遣送大陸“嚴重侵害我民衆基本權益”，“對於兩岸關係的嚴重影響，陸方應負完全責任”。

The dispute over the deportees from Kenya comes at a sensitive time for cross-strait ties, with Tsai Ing-wen to be sworn in as president next month after winning a landslide election victory in January as she rode a wave of anti-China feeling.

圍繞肯尼亞遣返者的爭端，發生在兩岸關係的敏感時期。下個月，蔡英文(Tsai Ing-wen)將宣誓就任臺灣總統。今年1月，得益於一波反大陸情緒，蔡英文在選舉中取得了壓倒性勝利。

Beijing has long been hostile to her Democratic Progressive party, which wants the island to cut its economic reliance on China and has historically called for Taiwan to become fully independent.

長期以來，北京方面對蔡英文所在的民進黨(Democratic Progressive Party)一直懷有敵意。民進黨主張臺灣切斷與大陸的經濟聯繫，並曾呼籲臺灣完全獨立。

Ms Tsai has pledged to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan strait but will not find it easy to reassure Beijing about her intentions without upsetting hardliners in her own party.

蔡英文曾承諾維持臺海兩岸的和平與穩定。不過她會發現，在不得罪民進黨內強硬派的同時讓北京方面對她的意圖放心，並不是件容易的事。