President Ma Ying-jeou was invited to attend the opening ceremonies of the 10th International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Asia Pacific Executive Policing Conference at the Grand Hotel in Taipei on the morning of March 30. In remarks to the gathering, the president extended a warm welcome on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan) to the chiefs of police from nations throughout the world attending the conference.
President Ma noted that the IACP was founded in 1893 and is not only the world's largest police organization, but also the first police-oriented NGO. The organization has approximately 20,000 members from 101 nations, and its mission is to foster police cooperation and the exchange of information and experience among police administrators throughout the world.. He also noted that seven seminars would be held at the conference on March 30 and March 31, and would focus on the theme of this year's conference – Trends and Challenges in Combating Emerging Transnational Crimes – while giving participants a chance to exchange their professional knowledge and experiences and contribute to the prevention of international crime.
President Ma also said that since the ROC is not a member of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), it must rely on bilateral cooperation with individual nations in handling cross-border crime. In addition, the president commented that Taiwan has formal diplomatic relations with just 23 countries, and therefore it frequently encounters obstacles in attempting to extradite criminals back to Taiwan. He said the government is working to address this situation and that it is currently trying to sign an extradition treaty with the United States. Meanwhile, the government is also negotiating an agreement with mainland China to enable both sides to work together in combating crime, he said. The president expressed his hopes that progress will be seen on these initiatives. He also urged police chiefs attending the conference to use their influence to assist and work together with Taiwan in battling international crime, including drug abuse, money laundering, and terrorism.
Lastly, President Ma reminded the police chiefs to find a little time amid the busy schedule of the conference to tour Taipei and Taiwan in order to better understand the nation's culture and lifestyle.