MAC Chairman Jaushieh Joseph Wu Visits Ilan Detention Center For Chinese Stowaways
On the eve of the 2005 Mid-Autumn Festival, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Jaushieh Joseph Wu visited the Ilan Detention Center for Chinese stowaways with other MAC and Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) officials, and expressed his gratitude and encouragement for the hard work exerted by the police officers at the Center. Chairman Wu has specifically urged the Chinese authorities:
1. to carry out the “Kinmen Accord,” open up an additional route for the repatriation of stowaways from Kinmen to Xiamen, and to repatriate all of the detainees at the Detention Center as soon as possible; and
2. to hold negotiations on issues such as the cross-strait crime enforcement as soon as possible to effectively deter snakehead gangs and stowaways from entering Taiwan illegally to engage in unlawful acts.
On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the signing of the “Kinmen Accord,” Chairman Wu indicated that the current repatriation procedures of stowaways are carried out in accordance with the stipulations under the “Kinmen Accord” signed by the Red Cross organizations on both sides of the Strait on September 12, 1990. The present venue for handing over the detainees to the Chinese authorities is only at Matsu. In accordance with the stipulations under the “Kinmen Accord,” the stowaways can also be repatriated through Kinmen. Taiwan has recently set up a Kinmen Detention Center for Chinese, which will officially open soon. It is hoped that in addition to the current repatriation route from Matsu to Mawei, the Chinese authorities can open up and institutionalize another route from Kinmen to Xiamen, according to the stipulations under the “Kinmen Accord.” This is aimed at doubling the repatriation rate of the detained stowaways in Taiwan at approximately 1,500 stowaways.
Moreover, in order to meet international human rights standards, the Ilan Detention Center has set up additional “Guarded Rooms” at the Second Detention Station to especially provide proper protection and treatment to those detainees who had been forced to illegally enter Taiwan and juvenile detainees. Chairman Wu visited them to express his concern over their living conditions, and urged the Chinese authorities to abide by the humanitarian spirit to prioritize the repatriation of juveniles, pregnant women, and detainees who are seriously ill and need special care from their families. This is to enable them to reunite with their families as soon as possible.
The increasingly rampant cases involving Chinese stowaways engaging in major criminal activities in Taiwan have seriously undermined Taiwan’s national security and social stability. In order to deter the criminals on both sides from taking advantages of the special cross-strait situation to engage in illegal activities and prevent them from endangering civilian lives and properties, MAC again urged China to resume negotiations on issues including the cross-strait crime enforcement. This is aimed at effectively deterring unlawful actions such as illegal entry into Taiwan and establishing a long-term mechanism for sustained cooperation to preserve normalized exchanges and order across the Strait.