Matsu authorities on Monday set up a platform as part of their efforts to crack down on criminal activities, the Lienchiang District Prosecutors’ Office said.
The platform was set up due to growing abuse of the islands, which are less than 20km from China’s coast, as a transit point for people and goods from China trying to enter Taiwan illegally, the office said in a statement.
Local authorities have over the past six months handled six cases involving dozens of stowaways, one human trafficking case, two cases of poaching sea sand, six cases of illegal fishing and several cases of mushroom and cigarette smuggling, the office said.
Photo: Yu Chao-fu, Taipei Times
Attempts by stowaways to enter Taiwan through the Matsu Islands have been on the rise, affecting local social order and posing a threat to national security, Chief Prosecutor Yu Hsiu-duan (俞秀端) said, without providing any details.
In the past, stowaways often used intermediaries at sea to pick them up and take them to Nangan (南竿) or Xiju (西莒) islands to wait for an opportunity to sneak into Taiwan proper, she said.
However, Chinese have been sailing directly to Dongyin (東引) and Beigan (北竿) islands before proceeding to Taiwan proper with fake documents through the help of human trafficking rings, she added.
Some Taiwanese criminals have also used the Matsu Islands as a transit point to enter China with false documents, Yu said.
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