China-led international alliance to combat telecommunications and Internet fraud launched

(Beijing = Yonhap News) Correspondent Jong-gu Han = An international organization has been launched under the leadership of China to jointly respond to cross-border crimes such as voice phishing and online fraud.

According to China's official Xinhua News Agency and Global Times on the 11th, the founding general meeting of the 'International Telecommunication and Internet Fraud Combating Alliance' was held in Yanyungang, Jiangsu Province the previous day.

This federation, which the Chinese government proposed to establish, aims to be an international intergovernmental organization that jointly responds to crimes related to telecommunications and Internet fraud with the participation of law enforcement agencies from each government.

Representatives of 46 founding countries and 34 observing countries, including Vietnam, Laos, Kenya, Cambodia, Pakistan, and Russia, attended the inaugural general meeting, and officials from four international organizations, including the United Nations and the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), also participated.

In a joint statement, the participating countries emphasized the need for joint response, saying, "Telecommunications and Internet fraud is emerging as a global public harm."

He then stated that establishing a more professional, efficient, and effective intergovernmental international organization based on international agreements has practical significance in jointly responding to related crimes and protecting the safety and legitimate rights and interests of citizens and businesses of each country.

The Chinese side explained that the federation aims to effectively respond to cross-border telecommunications and Internet fraud based on the broad participation of law enforcement agencies in each country and to have a certain level of action and coordination ability.

The Global Times predicted that with the launch of the federation, crime information sharing and law enforcement cooperation among member countries will be strengthened.

The launch of this alliance is interpreted as an extension of China's recent efforts to strengthen joint crackdowns on voice phishing and online gambling with Southeast Asian countries.

China has cooperated with Southeast Asian countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand to repatriate Chinese fraudsters operating overseas one after another.

Last January, Prince Group founder Chen Zhi, whom China's Ministry of Public Security designated as the leader of a "significant cross-border gambling and fraud group," was transported to China through cooperation with Cambodian authorities.

China is presenting the launch of this alliance as a concrete example of the global security initiative and global governance initiative presented by President Xi Jinping.

Xinhua News Agency explained, "The alliance was initiated by the Chinese government to deeply implement global security initiatives and global governance initiatives," and "its key functions are broad participation by law enforcement agencies from each country and effective response to transnational fraud crimes."

However, China did not disclose the entire list of 46 founding countries, the location of the federation headquarters, the composition of the secretariat, and specific decision-making and investigation methods.

It was not confirmed whether Korea participated as a founding country or an observer country.