Cory Gardner
Excluding Taiwan from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) would increase the risk of terrorism, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) argued on Tuesday.
Gardner, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy, made his remarks ahead of the 85th Interpol General Assembly.
“Taiwan’s exclusion heightens the risk of terrorism, which is why I have been a strong advocate for them being admitted into Interpol. I recently authored legislation that was signed into law in March, that required the United States State Department to develop a strategy to include Taiwan as an observer in Interpol.”
Interpol, with 190 member countries, is the world’s largest international police organization. Nonmembership prevents Taiwan from gaining access to Interpol’s global police communications system, and the island nation is therefore unable to share information on criminal activity with the rest of the world.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously supported Gardner’s bill in January. U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), the ranking member of the committee, cosponsored the bill with Gardner.
President Obama signed the bill into law in March, and Gardner has since continued to support the effort.
“I will continue to advocate for Taiwan to be included in Interpol and ensure the United States supports our friend and ally at the General Assembly meeting,” Gardner said.