The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) yesterday appealed to China to speedily repatriate its illegal immigrants before the Lunar New Year.
"Aside from China, there isn't a country that will not welcome its citizens back into its territory. We hope that China can arrange to repatriate these 1,650 illegal immigrants so they can reunite with their families right away," minister Yu Cheng-hsien (
Although China restarted its repatriation mechanism at the end of last October, there are still 1,650 Chinese immigrants in Taiwan's detention centers.
The return of cross-strait illegal immigrants and criminals is based on the Kinmen Accord (金門協議), which was signed by both sides' Red Cross societies in 1990. The accord states that once illegal immigrants have been arrested, a verification procedure should be completed within 20 days, and arrangements for repatriation should follow.
China, however, has frequently delayed such arrangements, resulting in a distorted situation of detainees waiting endlessly in four detention centers in Taiwan over the past 10 years.
According to the Bureau of Immigration, 43,210 illegal Chinese immigrants have been arrested under the accords, 41,101 of whom have been repatriated to China.
Each Chinese immigrant has to wait for an average of 173 days for repatriation. The government said that holding the detainees has been a heavy financial burden.
Yu said that Taiwan has suggested providing ships and transporting the immigrants to China, but China continues to turn down the proposal.
Based on the Bureau of Immigration's figures, the Ministry of the Interior had to allocate more than NT$100 million every year for the immigrants. Illness and pregnancy require extra funds.
In yesterday's press conference, Yu also vowed to work with Southeast Asian countries and China to arrest 47 Taiwanese fugitives hiding in these countries.
Yu specifically named former independent lawmaker Wu Tzer-yuan (
Wu left Taiwan on Dec. 29, 2001. The Ministry of Justice's Bureau of Investigation later said that Wu had been spotted by its special agents in Guangzhou, China.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
Environmental groups yesterday filed an appeal with the Executive Yuan, seeking to revoke the environmental impact assessment (EIA) conditionally approved in February for the Hsieh-ho Power Plant’s planned fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving station off the coast of Keelung. The appeal was filed jointly by the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group, the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association and the Keelung City Taiwan Head Cultural Association, which together held a news conference outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei. Explaining the reasons for the appeal, Wang Hsing-chih (王醒之) of the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group said that the EIA failed to address
RSS