A limit on the length of detention for Chinese nationals who contravene immigration rules could create a national security loophole, an immigration official said yesterday.
The current system lacks a mechanism to re-detain Chinese nationals who contravene rules after being released from immigration detention, potentially creating a national security risk, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Under current regulations, once a detention expires, detainees must be released under conditions such as mandatory reporting or residency restrictions, or be required to provide a guarantor, ensuring they remain available for deportation without being imprisoned.
Photo: Taipei Times
For example, Ruan Fangyong (阮芳勇), a self-described former member of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, on June 8 last year piloted a speedboat from China’s Fujian Province to a pier in New Taipei City along the Tamsui River, illegally entering Taiwan’s waters, the official said.
Ruan’s detention expired before he could be deported due to the state of cross-strait relations, and following his release, he sparked controversy when he spoke to the media, they said.
In another case, a Chinese influencer surnamed Yang (楊) swam from Xiamen, China, to Kinmen County in May 2023.
After being sentenced to three months in prison and held in immigration detention for five months, he spent some time outside the detention center before being deported to China, and later posted videos on social media claiming that after being released from detention he had traveled around Taiwan, the official said.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) detained more than 20,000 foreign nationals last year, 19,000 of whom were deported before their detention limit expired, agency data showed.
Among the about 1,000 people who were released from detention, more than a dozen were Chinese nationals who had illegally entered Taiwan, but could not be deported in the short term.
The agency operates two separate detention systems, with foreign nationals governed by the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法), while Chinese nationals fall under 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).
Following amendments to the Immigration Act three years ago, foreign nationals released after reaching the end of their detention term could be detained again if they contravene regulations or if authorities lose contact with them.
However, Chinese nationals who contravene rules or evade contact are only issued a warning and face no other enforcement measures.
Some experts have expressed concern that if the Chinese Communist Party were to deliberately send large numbers of people to illegally enter Taiwan, they could remain in Taiwan after their detention limit expires if China refuses to cooperate with deportation requests. They could then move freely in Taiwan after their released.
In response, the NIA said it last year forwarded draft amendments that would authorize the agency to re-detain Chinese nationals deemed to pose a threat to national security, with detention periods calculated separately.
The amendments are under review, it said.
The Mainland Affairs Council said the NIA has some enforcement options at its disposable, as there are circumstances in which Chinese nationals deemed to pose a national security threat could be detained again within the scope of existing laws.
Additional reporting by Chen Yu-fu
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