Illegal Chinese immigrants injured or killed while trying to enter the country might not receive any compensation, Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) said yesterday.
"Although the Criminal Victim Protection Law (
Chen Ding-nan made the remark yesterday morning in response to a talk by TSU Legislator Chen Chien-ming (
Chen Chien-ming argued that Chinese women who lose their lives while illegally entering Taiwan or who use fake marriages to enter the country to become prostitutes should not be covered by the protection law.
He was referring to the recent deaths of six Chinese women who were forced to jump off a Taiwanese boat while being chased by the coast guard in waters off Miaoli County .
Media reports said the justice ministry has planned to grant each victim's family NT$1 million in compensation.
According to the Criminal Victim Protection Law, those injured during a criminal offense are entitled to a maximum compensation of NT$400,000 to pay for their medical expenses. Those seriously injured are eligible for compensation of up to NT$1 million.
Those who lost their lives can receive funeral compensation of up to NT$300,000. They are also entitled to compensation of up to NT$1 million to help pay for the education expenses of their bereaved children.
According to Coast Guard Administration Director Wang Chun (
While 28 percent of women engaged in the sex industry were smuggled into the country, 29 percent of them entered the country with a fake marriage and 31 percent of them entered with the excuse of visiting relatives, Wang said.
Coast Guard Administration statistics show that about 37 percent of the women smuggling into the country came from Fujian Province, while 17 percent were from Sichuan Province and 13 percent from Hubei and Hunan provinces.
About 64 percent landed in northern Taiwan, while 22 percent in central Taiwan and 10 percent in the south.
To curb the smuggling problem, Wang said, it is important to nail the smuggling ring one month after busting illegal immigrants.
"Our study found that smuggling rings start to make profits about one month after successfully making the delivery. In other words, we must act fast to locate the kingpin of the illegal syndicate during this month-long critical period," Wang said.
According to Wang, about 26 percent, or 275, of the illegal immigrants interviewed between July last year and August this year said they were arrested on the same the day of their attempted illegal entry to the country.
More than 59 percent, or 600, were arrested one month after their illegal entry and 10 percent, or 111, were arrested two to three months after their illegal entry.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
A global survey showed that 60 percent of Taiwanese had attained higher education, second only to Canada, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan easily surpassed the global average of 43 percent and ranked ahead of major economies, including Japan, South Korea and the US, data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for 2024 showed. Taiwan has a high literacy rate, data released by the ministry showed. As of the end of last year, Taiwan had 20.617 million people aged 15 or older, accounting for 88.5 percent of the total population, with a literacy rate of 99.4 percent, the data
NEW LOW: The council in 2024 based predictions on a pessimistic estimate for the nation’s total fertility rate of 0.84, but last year that rate was 0.69, 17 percent lower An expected National Development Council (NDC) report expects the nation’s population to drop below 12 million by 2065, with the old-age dependency ratio to top 100 percent sooner than 2070, sources said yesterday. The council is slated to release its latest population projections in August, using an ultra-low fertility model, the sources said. The previous report projected that Taiwan’s population would fall to 14.37 million by 2070, but based on a new estimate of the total fertility rate (TFR) — the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime — the population is expected to reach 12 million by
RSS