Fraud suspects ‘apologize’ amid China-Taiwan deportation row

There’s a new twist in the dust-up involving Taiwan, China and Kenya over deportations of fraud suspects to the mainland.

Two of the Taiwanese citizens have now appeared in interviews with Chinese state-run media, offering apologies for their acts and pleading for Chinese authorities to go easy on them.

“I knew from the start it is wrong to trick people in the Mainland,” Chinese state-run news service Xinhua quoted one of the men, identified only by his surname of Chien, as saying. “It’s wicked and there will be retribution. I want to sincerely apologize to the Mainland victims. I am willing to be punished. I wish I could get leniency.”

READ: Taiwan accuses China of ‘extrajudicial abduction’ of workers in Kenya

State broadcaster China Central Television showed what it said were written confessions in Chinese.

CNN cannot independently verify these reports, and it is unclear whether the men made their comments under duress.

The two men are reportedly among 45 Taiwanese citizens forcibly deported to China by Kenya despite protests from Taiwan’s government, which said the transfers were a “gross violation of basic human rights.”

READ: Kenya defends deportation

Kenya does not recognize Taiwan – officially the Republic of China – nor does it maintain diplomatic relations with the island. China has praised Kenya for its decision to send the suspects to the mainland.

exp ns stout chen taiwan kenya_00011420.jpg

video

Related video Anger in Taiwan after Kenya deports citizens to China

Kenyan authorities had accused the men of a complex phone and internet fraud scheme, but the Taiwanese were acquitted.

When they went to a Nairobi police station to pick up their passports, “they were detained by the police for no reason,” Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

READ: Can China get away with abducting people overseas?

A spokesman for Kenya’s Interior Ministry said the Taiwanese were deported for being in the country illegally.

China's international hunt for dissidents —

For critics of China and their families, fears that nowhere is safe as Beijing targets dissidents beyond its borders.

Gui Minhai —

This Chinese-born Swede, right, ran publishing house Mighty Current in Hong Kong, known for printing political gossip about the Chinese leadership. He disappeared from his apartment in Thailand on October 17. Three months later, he suddenly appeared on Chinese state television, confessing to a 2003 hit and run. His supporters say he was kidnapped by Chinese agents and the Thai police tell CNN they have no record of him leaving the country.

Lee Bo —

Gui Minhai's business partner, Lee Bo was last seen on December 30 near his company's warehouse in Hong Kong. Hong Kong police have since confirmed he is in mainland China. Lee's disappearance sparked demonstrations in Hong Kong, where protestors believe his arrest was a violation of the former colony's autonomy. Lee and Gui's supporters say Mighty Current was working on a book about the love affairs of Chinese President Xi Jinping. UK authorities say they are "deeply concerned" about the possible detention of Lee, a British passport holder, and his colleagues.

Li Xin —

The former editor of a prominent Chinese newspaper, Li said he was pressured by local authorities to spy on human rights advocates and NGOs. He tried to seek asylum in India and then Thailand. After speaking to his wife from a train near the Thai-Laos border on January 11, he disappeared for more than three weeks. His wife told CNN the two next spoke on the phone on February 3. Li refused to disclose his location and told her he "voluntarily came back to China to accept an investigation."

Dong Guangping —

A former Chinese police officer, Dong was arrested several times for participating in pro-democracy protests. He fled to Thailand with his family in 2015 seeking safety from Chinese authorities and a better life for his daughter, according to his wife Gu Shuhua. Despite UN recognition as a refugee, the Thai authorities arrested him in October for an immigration violation. Gu says her husband's immigration fine was paid by the Chinese government who then took him back to China. Since his arrest in Bangkok, she says her only contact with Dong has been seeing him in police custody on Chinese state television.

Jiang Yefei —

A political cartoonist and leader in the Chinese dissident community in Thailand, Jiang Yefei, right, was arrested alongside Dong Guangping in Bangkok and sent to China. Amnesty International says he fled China after being detained and tortured because of his criticism of the government's response to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. He appeared imprisoned on Chinese state television in November, asking for "lenient treatment."

Bao Zhuoxuan —

A 16-year-old student, Bao fled China after the detention of his parents in a government crackdown on human rights lawyers. Amnesty International says he and his traveling companions were picked up in the Myanmar border town of Mong La on October 6 and returned to China. Rights groups say he is now under house arrest at his grandparents' house in Inner Mongolia. Chinese state media denied reports the boy has been threatened or harassed and said he is enrolled in local school.

China's international hunt for dissidents

Prev Next

Xinhua cited Chien as saying he had joined the fraud ring on October 2014. Xinhau said he described a scheme in which fraudsters posed as law enforcement officials on the phone and tried to trick mainland residents into transferring money to resolve the issue.

The other suspect, only identified as Hsu, said he flew to Kenya in 2014 after being recruited to join the fraud ring.

READ: ‘Missing’ bookseller returns to Hong Kong

“I am familiar with telecommunications fraud, so they found me and let me help this ‘startup,’” Xinhua quoted Hsu as saying.

In a related incident, Taiwan’s official Central News Agency reported Friday that 20 Taiwanese fraud suspects that had faced similar deportation to China from Malaysia had been sent to Taiwan and freed.

CNN’s Chieu Luu and Serenitie Wang contributed to this report.