Fourteen undocumented Vietnamese immigrants were apprehended on Saturday onboard a Taiwanese fishing boat in waters off Tainan, the Coast Guard Administration said on Sunday.
The Pingtung Reconnaissance Brigade intercepted the fishing boat after receiving a tip that a human trafficking syndicate planned to smuggle Vietnamese nationals via China to Taiwan, the coast guard said in a statement.
Before dawn on Saturday, coast guard officers intercepted the fishing boat and found the 14 Vietnamese along with three Taiwanese, who allegedly arranged passage for them into Taiwan, it said.
The Vietnamese — eight males and six females — were being smuggled in to Taiwan to work, the coast guard said.
They are being held for questioning and will be turned over to the National Immigration Agency’s Pingtung Specialized Operation Brigade for deportation, it said.
Incidents like this are not uncommon. On June 13, 19 undocumented Vietnamese posing as tourists were apprehended in Lienchiang County.
They were brought to Matsu by human trafficking rings and were supposed to enter Taiwan proper posing as tourists on ferries, authorities said.
In January 2017, 40 undocumented Vietnamese were intercepted on a Taiwanese fishing boat off Sandiaojiao (三貂角) in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮), said to be the biggest in terms of the number of undocumented Vietnamese caught in the past few years.
Investigations have shown that Vietnamese pay as much as US$7,000 to enter Taiwan to work illegally.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
The annual Taipei Summer Festival, which starts today, is to tone down its fireworks displays, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said on Monday. Fireworks displays are to be held at the riverside site in Datong District’s (大同) Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area on four days at this year’s festival, with the first today, and then on Wednesday next week, July 31 and Aug. 10, the department said. There were eight displays last year, with the reduction aimed at minimizing inconvenience to local residents, it said. The first three shows, which are all on Wednesdays, are to last for five minutes, while the final
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FATAL ILLNESS: Untreated symptoms can rapidly worsen to complications such as high fever, seizures and loss of consciousness, and can be life-threatening, a doctor said Hospitals have been reporting dozens of people with heat-related illnesses every day over the past week, given continuous high daytime temperatures, so recognizing the early signs of heatstroke is crucial in preventing serious complications, a Taipei City Hospital emergency physician said. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a heat alert for 19 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures in New Taipei City, Miaoli County and Pingtung County likely to exceed 38°C, and temperatures in 12 cities and counties likely to exceed 36°C for three days straight. More than a dozen people were taken to hospitals for heat-related illnesses every day from