Before this year’s Lunar New Year’s Eve, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Vice Chairman Michael Y. L. You paid a visit to the Chinese stowaways detained at the Hsinchu Detention Center with MAC and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) officials. Vice Chairman You expressed gratitude and conveyed regards to the policemen for their hard work. He especially urged China to address the following two issues:
1. Carry out the “Kinmen Accord” by opening up a new route between Kinmen and Xiamen to continually expedite the repatriation process of Chinese stowaways. It is also hoped that after the launch of the new “Haixia” vessel, China can repatriate all the detained Chinese stowaways in Taiwan immediately within the vessel’s carrying capacity.
2. Speed up negotiations on joint cross-strait crime crackdowns and other issues. This is to effectively deter snakehead gangs and Chinese stowaways from coming to Taiwan to engage in unlawful activities.
With regard to the repatriation of Chinese stowaways, 14 groups of 2,352 Chinese detainees were repatriated in 2005. The number of Chinese stowaways repatriated in 2005 was the highest recorded in the last ten years. However, there are approximately 1,200 Chinese stowaways who are presently detained in Taiwan. These Chinese detainees include underage youth, pregnant women, infants, as well as injured and sick people. Therefore, we especially urge China to prioritize the repatriation of these people as soon as possible under humanitarian consideration, so that they can return to their hometowns to reunite with their families.
At present, the Chinese stowaways are being repatriated by the “Haixia” vessel. Based on our understanding, China has already built a new “Haixia” vessel which can accommodate 250 passengers aboard. The vessel is expected to be officially launched after the Lunar New Year holidays. Therefore, we hope that China can immediately repatriate as many detained Chinese stowaways as possible after the launch of the new “Haixia” vessel. At the same time, Taiwan has set up a new Kinmen Detention Center for Chinese People, which can formally operate anytime. We would like to urge China again to open up a new route between Kinmen and Xiamen, in addition to the existing route between Matsu and Mawei, for the repatriation of the Chinese stowaways in accordance with the “Kinmen Accord.” This new route should be further institutionalized to double the speed of the repatriation process of Chinese stowaways.
Moreover, the illegal entry of Chinese stowaways into Taiwan to engage in major criminal activities has become increasingly rampant. This has seriously threatened national security and social stability in Taiwan. For example, the kidnapping of a videogame store owner’s son in Panchiao, Taipei County last year and the murder of a Taichung taxi driver named Chen Chin-cheng were both committed by Chinese stowaways. Therefore, MAC has considered to amend related laws to add regulations stipulating that heavier punishment should be imposed upon those who directly or indirectly use vessels, aircrafts or other means of transportation or act as middlemen to transport Chinese people illegally into Taiwan to engage in criminal activities. This is to prevent the unlawful elements on both sides of the Strait from taking advantage of the special cross-strait situation to constantly engage in illegal activities and endanger the safety and property of Taiwan’s people. Furthermore, it has urged China to impose tighter restraints on its people and crackdown harder on unlawful stowaways. At the same time, China must engage in negotiations with Taiwan on the joint cross-strait crime crackdowns and other issues as soon as possible. This is aimed at effectively preventing illegal immigration and other unlawful activities, establishing a long-term mechanism for continued cooperation, and preserving the order of normalized cross-strait exchanges.