Police yesterday announced they had shut down a cross-strait prostitution ring and arrested the alleged ringleaders.
Police said the group took advantage of loopholes in cross-strait exchange laws by bringing in Chinese women as “cultural entertainment performers” and trafficking them for sex.
Under the coordination of the National Immigration Agency (NIA), law enforcement officers with search warrants issued by the Taipei District Court apprehended 13 suspects and three Chinese women in raids in Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan on Thursday.
NIA officials said the widening investigation is being handled by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office.
The two main suspects, a man surnamed Chu (朱) and a man surnamed Kuo (郭), allegedly forged documents, confiscated the women’s passports and used other means to exploit the women for use as sex workers.
Prosecutors said the suspects would likely be indicted on human trafficking charges, offenses against social morality, contravening laws governing the cross-strait relationship and violating the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪條例).
NIA officials said the group allegedly fabricated documents, such as proof of employment, government certificates and qualifications, to bring in young Chinese women as performers in troupes to tour Taiwan.
Law enforcement agencies caught wind of them last year, and through surveillance, they said they found the suspects had brought 82 Chinese women under six separate “tour groups” for entry into Taiwan in the past six months, each of whom was granted a three-month visitor’s visa.
Earlier last week, the NIA broke up another alleged cross-strait prostitution ring, arresting two Taiwanese suspects surnamed Wang (王) and Huang (黃) in China through cross-strait collaboration.
The suspects allegedly took advantage of loopholes in regulations in the government’s “open door” policy for Chinese tourists, bringing in young Chinese women on the pretext of independent travel in Taiwan to obtain short-term tourist visas and trafficking them in the sex trade.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS