The Ministry of Justice has cracked a major people-smuggling ring, it said yesterday, although it would not confirm reports that the group helped Chinese spies enter Taiwan by providing fake identifications.
"This is a criminal ring consisting of Chinese and Taiwanese citizens," a senior official with the ministry's Bureau of Investigation said on condition of anonymity. "It is also the biggest human-smuggling ring we have ever broken up."
According to the bureau, special agents have been investigating and tailing suspects and collecting evidence against them since June last year.
The suspected ring leader, Sun Jung-hua (孫榮華), is a 40-year-old Chinese citizen who possesses a permit to work in Taiwan. Prosecutors did not say what his job was.
Investigators say his ring helped more than 100 Chinese citizens enter Taiwan since last year.
Special agents from the bureau arrested 36 people who allegedly worked for Sun at 14 locations in Taipei City, Taipei County, Taoyuan County and Keelung City on Thursday.
The bureau said that several Taiwanese were among those arrested.
After interrogation, prosecutor Cheng Hsin-hung (
All five are Chinese citizens with permits to work in this country.
Bureau officials quoted Sun as saying that the ring charged each "client" between NT$30,000 to NT$60,000 for fake Taiwanese identification cards, allowing them to enter and live in Taiwan.
However, the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office said it could not confirm newspaper reports that Sun and his ring members smuggled Chinese spies into Taiwan.
"We are still investigating and I cannot comment at this moment on whether they were involved in helping Chinese spies enter Taiwan with fake identifications," said Chen Hung-ta (陳宏達), spokesman for the prosecutors' office.
"I can only tell you that their illegal human-smuggling business was confirmed. In the meantime, we will keep summoning witnesses to help us clarify the situation," Chen said.
Yesterday, TSU Legislator Lo Chih-ming (
"Officials from the National Security Bureau estimate that there are at least 250,000 Chinese people in Taiwan doing all kinds of business. However, 50,000 of them are suspected of collecting classified information for the Chinese government," Lo said.
Lo said that these spies used various means to collect information useful to the Chinese government.
For instance, Lo said, National Security Bureau special agents have found Chinese women who were "assigned" to marry to retired servicemen, especially those who had recently retired, to glean classified military information from them.
The law bans people in the military and police force from marrying Chinese citizens or travelling to China until they retire.
"If the National Security Bureau's tip is true, these Chinese spies are already everywhere," Lo said.
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