Mainland Affairs Council January 19, 2006
In order to effectively deter Chinese people from entering Taiwan illegally to engage in criminal activities, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has coordinated with relevant agencies to actively execute related regulations and formulate countermeasures. These efforts include the following:
1. Actual implementation of Article 79 of the Act Governing Relations between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area”(thereafter referred to as the Act), which stipulates that responsible authorities may confiscate Taiwan-registered vessels, aircrafts or other means of transportation used to transport stowaways, and establish a mechanism for communication and coordination.
2. In order to further clarify related penalty regulations, deliberations on amending related laws have been conducted. A regulation stipulating that stricter penalty will be imposed upon those who directly or indirectly use vessels, aircrafts or other means of transportation or act as middlemen to illegally transport Mainland Area people to Taiwan to engage in criminal activities has been included.
In order to deter Chinese people from entering Taiwan illegally, a new stipulation had been added to Article 79-6 of the Act when it was amended in 2003. According to the stipulations, the responsible authorities may confiscate Taiwanese-owned vessels, aircrafts, or other means of transportation used to illegally transport any Mainland Area people into the Taiwan Area. With regard to this new regulation, MAC has convened relevant agencies to hold discussions and determine that the responsible authorities refer to the authorities in charge of relevant business sectors (for example, the authorities in charge of fisheries affairs are the responsible authorities for fishing vessels and fishing rafts, while the authorities in charge of maritime transportation affairs are the responsible authorities for commercial and cargo vessels and pleasure boats). At the same time, negotiations and discussions have been held with the relevant agencies on numerous occasions to assist in the resolution of related matters involving the confiscation of the aforementioned vessels as well as establishing a mechanism for communication and coordination between the relevant agencies.
The Council of Agriculture (COA) released its first disciplinary citation a few days ago in accordance with the aforementioned regulation. In coordination with the Coast Guard Administration (CGA), COA confiscated a fishing vessel on January 17, 2006. The fishing vessel named Man-Yi has been registered at Pi-tou Fishing Port, Jui-fang, Taipei County. It was seized off the coast of Hualien by the CGA for transporting eight Chinese stowaways (seven Chinese females and one Chinese male) into Taiwan on April 19, 2005. After a review of the case by the Keelung District Court, a two-year sentence was imposed on the captain, who is also the owner of the fishing vessel. Each of the three seamen was handed a one year and seven months sentence. As of now, three other fishing vessels have been found transporting Chinese stowaways into Taiwan. The responsible authorities will enforce the confiscation penalty step by step. This is to show the government’s determination in actively investigating and prosecuting illegal entry cases and confiscating the offending vessels in accordance with the law.
Moreover, an increasing number of Chinese people have entered Taiwan illegally to engage in criminal activities, which has seriously endangered national security and social stability. For example, last year’s cases include the kidnapping of a videogame store owner’s son in Panchiao City, Taipei County and the murder of a Taichung taxi driver named Chen Chin-cheng. These cases were all alleged to be committed by Chinese stowaways who have entered Taiwan illegally. In order to enforce effective disciplinary regulations that completely crack down the crime rings in China and other unlawful elements and gangs, the relevant ministries and agencies have considered proposing their opinions for the amendment of Article 79 of the Act. They have suggested that heavier punishments should be handed to people who directly or indirectly use vessels or other means of transportation or act as middlemen to transport Chinese people to Taiwan illegally to engage in criminal activities. For example, if any captain of a fishing vessel is aware that stowaways transported from China are to be hired in Taiwan to engage in criminal activities, or if any person uses fishing vessels to transport Chinese stowaways to Taiwan to engage in criminal activities, heavier punishments should be imposed on the captain or the person. With regard to such a proposal, the MAC has deliberated and will convene the relevant agencies to discuss the matter further, in order to effectively deter such unlawful activities and to serve as a basis of the law-enforcement agencies in implementing the law.