Taiwan Protests as Cambodia Deports Fraud Suspects to China

Taipei

TAIPEI — Tensions have flared between Taiwan and Cambodia after nearly 190 online fraud suspects, many believed to be Taiwanese, were deported to China without prior notice or confirmation of their identities.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry has strongly protested Cambodia’s decision, accusing it of bowing to pressure from Beijing and failing to follow international norms. The deportations followed a major police raid in Phnom Penh on 31 March, which saw the arrest of around 180 Taiwanese nationals and seven alleged Chinese co-conspirators linked to a sprawling online scam operation.

Despite early engagement from Taiwan’s representative office in Ho Chi Minh City, which requested that the suspects be returned to Taiwan, Cambodian authorities moved ahead with the deportations to China late on Sunday and into Monday. No complete list of names or nationalities has been provided.

“Cambodia, under pressure from China, did not provide a list of our country’s nationals or the total number deported,” Taiwan’s foreign ministry said in a statement, expressing “serious concern and protest”.

Cambodia does not formally recognise Taiwan and, like most countries, supports Beijing’s position that Taiwan is a part of China. This has routinely complicated Taiwan’s attempts to secure the return of its citizens arrested abroad, particularly in fraud cases. Between 2016 and May 2024, more than 600 Taiwanese nationals detained overseas have been deported to China, not Taiwan.

The ministry has again urged Cambodian authorities to respect international practice and hand over suspects to their home jurisdiction. It also issued a warning to Taiwanese citizens against participating in illegal overseas ventures, particularly in telecom fraud schemes, which have proliferated in the region.

Cambodia has become a hotbed for such operations, often run by Chinese criminal networks based in heavily guarded compounds. Victims — frequently trafficked from Taiwan, Myanmar, and elsewhere — are lured by fake job offers and coerced into running online scams.

Cambodia’s increasingly close ties with China, now its largest economic partner, have raised wider geopolitical concerns. Massive infrastructure projects and deepening military cooperation — including the controversial expansion of the Ream Naval Base — signal a growing Chinese presence in the region.

Neither the Cambodian nor Chinese governments have commented on the deportations.

-2025-04-15