Local media last week reported on a Coast Guard Administration officer in Penghu County who allowed four Chinese to disembark a yacht and wander around freely for several days without an entry permit, sparking shock and concern over national security.
Four Chinese citizens and one US citizen, traveling on a Saint Kitts and Nevis-registered yacht from Quanzhou in China’s Fujian Province to Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture, sought temporary shelter from Typhoon Mawar in Penghu County’s Magong Port on May 27. The incident attracted attention as one of the Chinese crew uploaded video footage of their interaction with a coast guard officer, a man surnamed Lin (林) who was deputy head of the inspection office at Magong Port, to Chinese social network platform Xiaohongshu, and it was widely shared on Douyin.
The footage showed Lin telling the crew that the Maritime Port Bureau would allow the yacht to take shelter in the port, but they must obtain approval from the National Immigration Agency to disembark, or notify the Customs Administration if they purchased any products.
However, Lin said he was aware that the Chinese crew members had already snuck on land in the morning. He advised them to be careful and not to get caught if they wanted to sneak out to go shopping again, instructing them to be on the yacht when he came to take the daily roll call. Before that interaction, the footage showed a crew member saying that they did not have an entry permit and Taiwan does not allow entry to Chinese tourists. After the negotiation, he said that they were free to wander around, enjoying the delicious food and beautiful scenery of Penghu. The video included clips of the crew member eating and walking around a local market, viewing scenic spots and flaunting how they enjoyed a “self-guided tour” in Taiwan without an entry permit.
The yacht was docked for 10 days and sailed off on June 5. After the incident was reported, the Coast Guard Administration’s Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu branch issued a statement saying that Lin had been removed from his position and would be punished in accordance with to the law, while coast guard officers would receive additional training to prevent such incidents.
While it is unknown why the Chinese crew knowingly broke the law and whether similar cases are rare or not, the incident showed how easily foreign nationals can bypass customs, immigration and security — three of the four “CIQS” border security checkpoints (along with quarantine) — and raised concerns about how common such incidents are, while reflecting a lack of legal and crisis awareness among Taiwanese.
China has significantly increased political and military pressure on Taiwan in the hopes of annexing it, while more democratic countries are warning of China’s increasingly aggressive stance and military buildup in the Indo-Pacific region. The outlying Penghu islands would be the front line in the event of a Chinese attack and coast guard personnel stationed there should be especially vigilant, but the officer in this case showed a lack of awareness. The incident could have resulted in a national security breach if the intruders had had malicious intent.
Although hostility against Chinese or any foreigner is not encouraged, the Coast Guard Administration should take the incident as a warning, and assess its standard procedures to uncover any systemic flaws that need to be addressed to prevent a security breach, while improving the training of its officers, including their awareness of the law.
While the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is trying to establish a “new normal” by frequently sending military aircraft and vessels across the Taiwan Strait’s median line and holding drills near Taiwan, and the number of cyberattacks is growing each year, the government should ensure Taiwanese are aware of China’s “hybrid warfare” strategies, so that they can identify possible threats and protect against them.
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