The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday that the government's efforts to crack down on illegal activities involving Chinese from across the Strait have borne fruit.
MAC Vice Chairman Liu Te-shun (
Last year the CGA found 1,069 Chinese nationals smuggled into Taiwan. This figure is down from 1,787 in 2004 and 3,458 in 2003.
"Because of the high risk that is involved in smuggling, Chinese nationals seem to favor other means of entering the country, such as through marriages, tourism, or family visits," Liu told a press conference yesterday.
Liu said this trend might be the reason behind the drop in the number of Chinese stowaways caught by the coast guard.
Liu pointed out that while the CGA caught 1,077 Chinese female stowaways in 2004, it only arrested 182 Chinese women last year.
Chinese women who wanted to come to Taiwan probably chose to enter into "marriages" with Taiwanese men, rather than being smuggled into the country, Liu said.
Liu added that according to the National Police Agency, Taiwanese criminal rings have arranged fake marriages between Chinese women and Taiwanese men, and these women work as prostitutes after entering Taiwan.
The government would continue to strictly examine Chinese nationals who apply to enter the country, the MAC official said.
The Coast Guard Administration recorded a total of 744 human trafficking cases last year, with 1,069 Chinese nationals being arrested. Among them, 887 were men and 182 were women.
The NPA last year also arrested 6,831 Chinese nationals, either for illegally entering the country or engaging in illegal activities such as prostitution.
Liu said that it is worth noting that the number of Chinese men applying to work on Taiwanese fishing boats are increasing. However, these men usually flee into the country when they get the chance.
Around 90 percent of the Chinese stowaways are from Fujian (
The CGA and the NPA have been increasing their efforts to crack down on illegal Chinese immigrants in recent years.
The NPA had said that the Chinese stowaways have impacted the country's security.
There are currently around 1,200 illegal Chinese immigrants housed at the country's four Ching-lu (
The MAC has urged the Chinese government to speed up the processing for the return of these illegal immigrants.
The deportation of illegal Chinese immigrants is carried out according to the Kinmen Accord, which was signed by China and Taiwan in 1990.
Based on the accord, the Chinese government is committed to taking back illegal immigrants within 20 days.
The Chinese government, however, has failed to live up to the accord.
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