In the wake of Chinese hijacker Gao Jun (
However, Lai Hsieh-yi (
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
"They [the MOJ and the prison] won't let him go back because he's such a troublemaker," he said.
Gao Jun was one of 16 Chinese who hijacked 12 Chinese domestic flights to Taiwan seeking political asylum in a so-called "hijacking fever" that occurred between April 1993 and June 1994. Armed only with a scalpel, Gao single-handedly hijacked a Chinese Northern Airlines MD-82 jet on a Qingdao to Fuzhou flight on Dec. 8, 1993.
After serving over two-thirds of his 10-year sentence, Gao was paroled on Feb. 19 and was sent to the Hsinchu refugee camp, where he was put on probation to await repatriation to China.
As soon as Gao arrived at the refugee camp he started a hunger strike -- the purpose of which was not clear, Lai said.
"He wants to draw attention and distinguish himself by not cooperating. He used to refuse repatriation; now he says he wants to go back [to China] soon. But I wonder if, when we're to send him back, he might resist again," Lai said.
Citing the concern that Gao's mood might be disturbed, Lai declined a request by the Taipei Times to interview the hijacker, but allowed reporters to see him outside the railings of his cell. Inmates typically live together in large bunk dormitories and are only placed in single-person cells as a security measure or for punishment when they break certain regulations.
Gao looked sane and well. Knowing there was a photographer outside, he sat or stood with his back constantly to the door. When Lai reproached him for not eating, he replied, "I said I don't eat; I just don't."
Gao's hunger strike has now moved into its 15th day, and the refugee camp today plans to have him force-fed by doctors for a third time.
Lai said Gao continues to resist every instruction and knocks over his food tray at meals.
Gao is the last of the 16 hijackers to receive parole and to be transferred to the Hsinchu refugee camp. However, he is by no means the only hijacker to have given camp officials a hard time.
As Gao's probation officer, Lai said it is his duty to report Gao's breach of the conduct rules to the MOJ via the Bureau of Immigration and suggest that Gao's parole be revoked. But Lai said he had tried such a move with another hijacker and failed.
In July 1999, hijacker Qi Dachuan
It has been widely reported by the media that the hijackers have caused significant trouble while in prison. For example, Gao is reported to have swallowed toothbrushes and a thermometer. Hunger strikes, riots and fights in the prison were also frequently reported.
"It is understandable that the prison wants them to stay here until repatriation," Lai said.
The most notable and shocking act of the hijackers took place on Feb. 8, 1999, when three of them repeated the crime. On their pre-repatriation flight from Hsinchu to Kinmen with six other hijackers, Yang Mingde (楊明德), Lin Wenqiang (林文強) and Wang Zhihua (王志華) injured Jan Jyh-horng (詹志宏), deputy secretary general of the Straits Exchange Foundation, with a sharp iron weapon and demanded that the plane be flown to Guam.
The attempt failed and the trio were brought back to Taiwan and convicted of hijacking a second time. They are now in the process of appeals.
Several officials were disciplined over the incident, including the refugee camp director, who was replaced because he was deemed to have been negligent in failing to prevent the trio from making the weapon and taking it on board the plane.
The state watchdog Control Yuan also formally condemned the National Police Administration and demanded the refugee camp enhance the management of hijackers being held on probation.
The reasons for hijackers' inclination to be emotionally frustrated are multifold, successive directors of the refugee camp have said.
First, unlike other inmates, most of whom are illegal immigrants, the hijackers will still face further trials and harsh punishments after they go back to China.
It was reported that the first repatriated Chinese hijacker, Huang Shugang (
Former camp directors also said that by escaping China the hijackers expected to receive a hero's treatment in Taiwan, as was the case for their counterparts during the Cold War era. However, the change of history put them instead behind bars, and they found the reality hard to accept.
Besides, Lai said, some hijackers see themselves as superior to ordinary illegal immigrants. "They regard themselves as coming to Taiwan with a brave act and a political belief and they believe they are different from others who came here on boats just to get a job," Lai said.
"Therefore, some of them don't get along very well with other inmates."
As Lai gave the Taipei Times reporters a tour of a secure zone dormitory, an inmate shouted: "Sir! Someone hit me!"
The man who shouted was Han Shuxue (
Han was sentenced to 11 years and was paroled and sent to the refugee camp in February 1999. Li has already been sent back to China. Lai said Han has been noisy for more than a month this time.
"He has been very fussy and likes to make complaints against camp staff and other inmates," Lai said, "However, his situation is not very serious and what we do is admonish him."
There are now six hijackers waiting to be repatriated in the camp, excluding Yuan Bin (
Lai said the couple behaves very well in the camp and that they are allowed to visit each other weekly.
MILITARY BOOST: The procurement was planned after Washington recommended that Taiwan increase its stock of air defense missiles, a defense official said yesterday Taiwan is planning to order an additional four PAC-3 MSE systems and up to 500 missiles in response to an increasing number of missile sites on China’s east coast, a defense official said yesterday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the proposed order would be placed using the defense procurement special budget, adding that about NT$1 trillion (US$32,88 billion) has been allocated for the budget. The proposed acquisition would include launchers, missiles, and a lower tier air and missile defense radar system, they said The procurement was planned after the US military recommended that Taiwan increase
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS