Thursday 31 January 2008

Taiwan
Extradition

In what is hailed as the first major case of mainland-Taiwan cooperation against commercial crimes, a Taiwanese banker wanted on the island for violations of banking laws was arrested in Shanghai and transferred to the Taiwanese authorities through Matsu.

Extradition

A Chinese businessman accused of making counterfeit products was indicted in the US on felony charges and was arrested in London on extradition request of the US Government. He said he had been invited to London for business negotiation by his American adversary. He later skipped bail and fled to China, reportedly with the help of the Chinese Government. So is it entrapment by the American authorities that infringed China's judicial sovereignty, or the Chinese Government aiding and abetting an accused felon whom even Chinese courts have found guilty of trademark violations?

Law of the Sea

China and Japan were reportedly getting closer to resolving their dispute over gas reserves in the East China Sea, something the Chinese side saw as paving the way for a successful visit by President Hu Jintao to Japan in the spring. When the Chinese negotiators are pressured to add short-term glamour to their leadership, naturally they have no choice but to make concessions. A Japanese diplomat said the Chinese had taken a “huge step” by implicitly admitting the Japanese insistence on using the equidistance line as the dividing line between the disputed seabeds.