The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) today said it is investigating two videos uploaded by a Chinese man who claimed to have illegally entered Taiwan via the northern coast.
The agency confirmed the veracity of the videos spread on X yesterday, which show the man sailing a rubber dinghy while speaking with a Chinese accent, with China's national flag visible in the background.
Photos: Screenshots from X
He is later seen on a beach, where he plants the flag in the ground.
The man claimed that he sailed solo from a beach near China's Fuzhou Changle International Airport on Thursday, landed in Taiwan the same day, and then returned to China.
A GPS screenshot shown at the end of one video indicated a location along the coast of Taoyuan's Dayuan District (大園), an area dotted with onshore wind turbines.
CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) told a news conference that preliminary analysis had ruled out video forgery.
However, the man did not appear dehydrated or sunburned — conditions typically expected after such a journey, Hsieh said.
The CGA has requested assistance from the National Immigration Agency and the Ministry of National Defense, and is reviewing nearby CCTV footage to verify whether the man actually entered Taiwan and whether he received any help inland, he said.
The videos, each under 40 seconds long, had earlier appeared on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, but were later removed.
The CGA said their removal does not affect its investigation.
Meanwhile, on Friday last week, two Chinese nationals — a father and son — used a rubber dinghy to illegally enter another beach in Taoyuan's Guanyin District (觀音), 10.9km from the site shown in the latest videos.
They were arrested shortly afterward.
Asked about the plausibility of both incidents, Hsieh said both were possible, but the Guanyin case appeared more credible based on the claimed departure points and fuel amounts involved.
Hsieh also acknowledged that the small size of inflatable boats poses a challenge to radar detection and that limited personnel further complicates surveillance efforts.
He said that the number of infrared thermal imaging cameras installed along Taiwan's coast remains insufficient amid intensifying Chinese incursions.
The CGA has sought additional funding to install more cameras and related surveillance equipment.
Citing China's "Joint Sword-2024A" military exercise following President William Lai's (賴清德) inauguration on May 20 last year, Hsieh said the recent illegal entry cases could be part of Beijing's strategy to sow confusion in Taiwan around the anniversary of Lai's assumption of office.
So far this year, the CGA has documented five illegal entry cases involving 38 people.
All but two were apprehended on site.
Hsieh emphasized the exigency for harsher penalties for illegal entry.
Under the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法) and the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), those who enter Taiwan without authorization may be sentenced to up to five years in prison or fined up to NT$500,000.
However, Hsieh said offenders in these so-called "quasi-smuggling" cases have typically received jail terms of no more than eight months or were only fined.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
RSS