The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) apprehended a Chinese national yesterday morning after he attempted to swim to Kinmen’s Dadan Island (大膽島) using a flotation ring.
The man was spotted at about 10:20am approximately 0.7 nautical miles (1.3km) northwest of Dadan Island during a CGA patrol, the agency’s Kinmen-Matsu- Penghu Branch said.
He was brought ashore at Kinmen’s Liaoluo Harbor (料羅港) for questioning.
Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration
The CGA said the man is suspected of contravening the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法), 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), and the Vital Area Regulations (要塞堡壘地帶法), and could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to NT$500,000.
The CGA said that such illegal crossings might be part of China’s cognitive warfare tactics aimed at undermining public morale, without elaborating.
Dadan Island lies just 4.4km from China’s Xiamen, making it especially susceptible to such activities, the agency said.
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