A dozen undocumented migrants were arrested during a sweep of Taichung’s ASEAN Plaza over the weekend, police said on Tuesday.
Twelve undocumented Vietnamese and Indonesians detained on Saturday and Sunday have been transferred to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to await deportation, the police said in a statement.
The authorities launched the operation on Saturday by visiting a number of dance clubs on the plaza’s sixth floor, where they arrested five undocumented Vietnamese men before conducting spot checks on the seventh floor, the statement said.
Photo: Hsu Kuo-chen, Taipei Times
While inside a club on the seventh floor, police found a hidden door that led to a small room where four undocumented Indonesians — two men and two women — were hiding, the statement said.
The remaining three — a Vietnamese and two Indonesian women — were detained when the police returned on Sunday to conduct general spot checks in the area, the statement said.
The police did not provide information on how many people were stopped or identification documents checked during the two-day sweep.
ASEAN Plaza is a popular venue for migrants to shop and has several Southeast Asia-themed clubs, Taichung Police Department’s First Precinct Deputy Chief Chou Chun-ming (周俊銘) said.
Police will continue to conduct weekly spot checks in the area and encourage undocumented migrants to proactively contact the NIA for assistance to be deported back to their country of origin, Chou said.
The NIA also issued a statement on Saturday, saying that an ongoing amnesty program for foreigners who have overstayed their visas would soon expire.
The “Expanded Overstayers Voluntary Departure Program,” which runs until Tuesday next week, has no mandatory detention, a maximum penalty of NT$2,000 and no re-entry ban, compared with detention, a maximum fine of NT$10,000 and an entry ban of one to eight years for those arrested by police.
There are a total of 49,859 undocumented migrants in Taiwan, NIA statistics as of the end of April showed.
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
The Tainan District Court has found a teenager guilty of posting a sexually explicit video of his girlfriend on social media without consent. The court ruled his parents were legally responsible for the boy’s actions, and ordered NT$500,000 (US$16,051) to be paid in compensation to the victim. The incident took place in December last year, when the boy and his girlfriend, both under 18 and legally minors at the time of the incident, were in a relationship. The boy asked her to send him explicit videos, according to a court filing. A month later, he posted the video on social media, with its visibility
RSS