Taiwan officials yesterday said they still hoped China would repatriate Liu Shan-chung who was responsible for hijacking a Taiwanese airliner to the mainland on Monday.
Chief Cabinet spokesman Su Chi said Taipei 'could understand' the need to detain and carry out 'the necessary interrogations' on Liu.
But Taipei still expected the eventual return of Liu so he could stand trial for air piracy in Taiwan, Mr Su said.
He also urged China to resume negotiations on hijacker repatriations with Taipei.
Mr Su, who dealt with a spate of 12 cross-Taiwan Strait hijackings in 1993 and 1994 while serving as a vice-chairman of the Cabinet's Mainland Affairs Council, said a consensus had been reached just before Beijing broke off the negotiations.
Liu Teh-hsun , director of the Legal Affairs Department at the Mainland Affairs Council, said Taipei 'couldn't rule out' the possibility of repatriating 16 hijackers.