The government has set itself a target of catching 1,000 illegal immigrants over the next six months, Premier Yu Shyi-kun said yesterday at the first meeting of a new task force that has the mission of stemming the flow of illegal Chinese immigrants to Taiwan.
"The task force aims to seize 1,000 to 1,200 illegal immigrants in six months, in addition to tracking down 15 to 25 cases of mass illegal immigration," Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung (
The Cabinet-level task force, dubbed "Hunting Snake," was launched by the Executive Yuan last month to augment the forces combating illegal immigration from China. The government has said that the growing number of Chinese illegal immigrants poses a security risk to Taiwan.
Yu also presided over the inauguration of the campaign at a naval base in Keelung last night.
The task force is headed by Director-General of the Coast Guard Administration Wang Chun (王郡), who reported at yesterday's meeting that the task force had realized its first-phase goal by seizing 322 Chinese illegal immigrants.
It had also ferreted out seven cases of organized human smuggling and prostitution.
The masterminds and their accomplices behind the smuggling of Chinese people to Taiwan are facing harsher punishments, including a minimum five-year jail sentence and a fine of up to NT$10 million, after the Legislative Yuan approved the amended Statute Governing Relations Between People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例) in October.
The government will also confiscate fishing vessels that have been used to transport illegal immigrants, which will deal a double blow to fishermen who collaborate with the smugglers.
To fulfill its goal of wiping out illegal immigration, the task force is offering rewards ranging from NT$3,000 to NT$60,000 to people reporting illegal immigrants.
Wang estimated that there would be more than 3,500 Chinese illegal immigrants detained in Taiwan by the end of year.
"The administration has detained about 3,000 illegal immigrants from China since January," Wang said.
He said he expected a decrease in the number of Chinese illegal immigrants now that the Chinese authorities have joined in the crackdown.
National Police Administration Director General Chang Si-liang (
"The government decided to keep the detained Chinese illegal immigrants outside Taiwan to make their repatriation easier," Chang said.
The government is also planning to build more detention centers on Kinmen and Matsu, Chang said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
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