The government is to soon offer rewards of up to NT$20,000 for information leading to the arrest of foreign nationals who have overstayed their visas, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) said.
The ministry on Thursday said that it would pay NT$2,000 for information that leads to the arrest of one person who has overstayed their visa and NT$5,000 if it leads to the arrest of four to six people.
The reward would increase to NT$10,000 for information leading to the arrest of seven to nine people and NT$20,000 for the arrest of 10 or more, the ministry added.
Employers or employment agency workers who work with foreign nationals who have overstayed their visas would not be eligible for the rewards, it said.
The ministry said that foreign nationals who have visas that will expire at the end of this month would be eligible for a three-month amnesty program.
It allows them to pay smaller fines if they report to immigration authorities during the grace period.
It was not clear how the ministry’s new fines would operate in relation to the Ministry of Labor’s reward program for information on unaccounted workers, many of whom might have overstayed their visas.
Meanwhile, the ministry is also to offer a NT$1,000 reward for information on cross-border marriage matchmaking ads posted by illegal brokers.
Only 32 government-approved associations in Taiwan are permitted to provide such services, the ministry said.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have