Joining court would allow investigation of Xi Jinping if he were to order act of war against Taiwan

Taiwan’s government is considering joining the international criminal court, in part to increase deterrence of a Chinese attack or invasion.

Supporters also say it would help universalise the international legal system, which has a low presence in Asia, and increase Taiwan’s global participation at a time when Beijing works to keep it as isolated as possible.

The court was established by the Rome statute, which defined four core international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression. It has operated since 2002, prosecuting dozens of alleged war criminals. In March the ICC issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, over the forced deportation of children from Ukraine.

  • andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works
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    10 months ago

    It’s a small step.

    A real deterrent could be a recognition of Taiwan as a country.

    But it has a potential to trigger too many consequencies even Taiwan wouldn’t like at the moment.

      • lntl@lemmy.ml
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        10 months ago

        Nah, not really. US supports Taiwan as a member of the First Island Chain of containment of the PRC. Any US acknowledgement of One China shouldn’t be construed as support.

        Regardless of the US’s position, the timeline of admission of Taiwan into NATO is a NATO issue, not solely the US.

        • Gargantu8@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Thanks for the clarification. I am just so, so glad I am not in charge of diplomacy… So stressful!

      • Sorgan71@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        All nato nations are bowing down to a dictator for the sake of trade. But taiwan is an independant country

  • foggianism@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    That wouldn’t stop China in their tracks. The USA is also not a signee of the International Criminal Court. Reason? So they can police the world with no repercusions. So it’s enough if just the perpetrator is not in the organization.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    10 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    Supporters also say it would help universalise the international legal system, which has a low presence in Asia, and increase Taiwan’s global participation at a time when Beijing works to keep it as isolated as possible.

    Supporters have said this could help deter Xi from acting on his intention to annex Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy whose people overwhelmingly reject the prospect of Chinese subjugation.

    Because of the warrant, Putin did not travel to the Brics conference in South Africa earlier this year as he faced the risk of arrest and deportation to The Hague if he landed in the ICC member state.

    Prof Jonathan Hafetz, of Seton Hall law school in the US, said he did not think Taiwanese membership of the ICC would have a strong deterrent effect alone, but would probably introduce “another dimension to the larger geopolitical landscape that China would have to navigate”.

    “I think China could try to undercut the legitimacy of any ICC action by underscoring the selective nature of international criminal justice and criticising it as a tool of western powers that is applied inconsistently,” Hafetz said.

    With Taiwan heading to a presidential election on 13 January, imminent movement on the proposal is unlikely, but the Guardian understands there are high-level discussions taking place in government.


    The original article contains 880 words, the summary contains 213 words. Saved 76%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • zephyreks@lemmy.ml
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    10 months ago

    This is the same ICC that the United States, Russia, China, and India are all not party to?

    The same ICC that Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Laos, Myanmar, and Brunei are all not party to?

    I guess Taiwan can join the illustrious list of signatories in the East/Southeast Asia region: Cambodia, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, and Timor-Leste.

      • zephyreks@lemmy.ml
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        10 months ago

        Meanwhile most of Southeast Asia and the Middle East are not. What, exactly, is your point?

        • bean@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Maybe read the article? It explicitly says why doing it in Asia would be beneficial.

        • thetreesaysbark@sh.itjust.works
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          10 months ago

          He made his point clear. He asked you if you think the members that are included are significant. Clearly you don’t, but you could just say so instead of replying with a passive aggressive question.

    • Quokka@quokk.au
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      10 months ago

      Imagine supporting not making it harder to get away with genocide because some other countries don’t.

      Like of all the reasons peer pressure wasn’t what I would have expected.

      • zephyreks@lemmy.ml
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        10 months ago

        There’s already a UN body to handle disputes between states: the International Court of Justice. The ICC’s primary role is to prosecute individuals, not states.

        • Stamau123@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Well it says in italics right at top Joining court would allow investigation of Xi Jinping if he were to order act of war against Taiwan so prosecuting individuals is probably what they had in mind.