The US House Committee on Foreign Affairs has approved a bill that would give US backing to Taiwan’s bid for observer status in INTERPOL.
The committee voted on the bill on Thursday. The bill would require the US President to develop a strategy for securing observer status for Taiwan. It would also require INTERPOL Washington to request other member countries to support Taiwan’s bid.
Taiwan has been unable to access INTERPOL databases since 1984. Committee Chairman Ed Royce said that since then, Taiwan has had to rely on second-hand information from the US.
Royce said that this information was not always timely, preventing Taiwan from dealing with criminal threats. Royce also said that since 1984, Taiwan has not had a channel for sharing its information on criminals with other countries. He said that granting Taiwan observer status in INTERPOL will make the world a safer place.