Representatives from 38 countries are in Taiwan to learn of the country's experiences in the fight against the trade in illegal narcotics. It's part of a Taiwan-U.S. initiative to push back against China’s efforts to isolate Taipei on the international stage.
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00:00Forensic scientist Wong Chung Fung is analysing extracts from a suspect's hair.
00:06He works in the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau in New Taipei City,
00:11helping gather evidence for police,
00:14which in recent years has him focused on identifying emerging designer drugs.
00:21We have to share our ability, our knowledge,
00:24to prevent this kind of drug spread out all over the world.
00:30Now he's sharing some of that knowledge with representatives from countries in Southeast Asia,
00:36Europe and Taiwan's diplomatic allies in Latin America.
00:40It's part of a Taiwan-US-led initiative called the Global Cooperation and Training Framework,
00:47or GCTF, that lets Taiwan have exchanges with other countries,
00:53even as it's kept out of international institutions because of pressure from China.
00:59Taiwan, the US, Japan, Australia and Canada are sharing their best practices
01:04on combating illegal drug flows and money laundering.
01:08The foreign ministry says events like these don't just help Taiwan share its expertise,
01:14but also deepen its partnerships with major countries.
01:18Attending the event's opening ceremony, the head of the de facto US embassy in Taipei,
01:24he says it's an important platform for Taiwan,
01:27given that China, formerly known as the People's Republic of China, or PRC,
01:33seeks to lay claim to it.
01:35Unfortunately, the PRC has worked to keep Taiwan out of all forms of international organizations.
01:40The US has long believed that Taiwan deserves a voice
01:43and deserves to participate in those organizations
01:46that are doing practical work on things like public health or law enforcement
01:50or international civil aviation issues.
01:53There are five more conferences planned this year,
01:56on topics including cognitive warfare and disaster relief.
02:00But some observers say that while Taiwan's government agencies
02:04get to interact with officials from many countries,
02:07the GCTF's political significance is limited.
02:11If we take as an example the Southeast Asian countries,
02:14many of them have participated in GCTF activities,
02:18regardless if that's law enforcement related,
02:21different types of resiliency or other public policy areas.
02:25But when it comes to overt support for Taiwan's participation in international organizations,
02:31Southeast Asian countries are pretty much silent.
02:34After Wong answered questions about his lab's technology,
02:38a sign of possible future collaboration.
02:41A small win for Taiwan,
02:43which is often kept out of even such scientific exchanges
02:48because of pressure from China.
02:50Scott Wong, Justin Wu, Stacey Hsu and Louise Watt for Taiwan Plus.