REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TAIPEI -- China has expressed initial welcome for Taiwan to send representatives there to discuss Kenya's deportation to China of Taiwanese nationals in connection with a telephone fraud ring in the African country, Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Ming-tang said Tuesday.

To date, the Kenyan authorities have handed over to China a total of 45 Taiwanese nationals who allegedly were members of various Kenya-based telecommunications fraud rings targeting mainly Chinese victims.

The first incident occurred April 8, when eight Taiwanese were put on a flight to China three days after they were acquitted by a Kenyan court for illegal telecom operations and organized crime, for which they were arrested in November 2014. However, the Chinese authorities want them charged in China with fraud.

On Tuesday, Kenyan police brandished submachine guns and tear gas to force another 37 Taiwanese to board a plane bound for China.