Taipei [Taiwan], August 15 : A Chinese man arrested by Taiwan's Coast Guard in June for operating a speedboat near the Tamsui River's mouth in New Taipei has been charged with illegal entry into Taiwan, according to the Shilin District Prosecutors Office on Wednesday, reported Focus Taiwan.
The man is alleged to have breached both the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area and the Immigration Act by entering Taiwan without proper authorization, the prosecutors stated.
The man is currently held at a detention centre operated by the National Immigration Agency's New Taipei specialised operation brigade and was transferred to Shilin District Court for a trial on Wednesday morning.
The Chinese national, who claimed he was unable to leave China due to online speech issues, purchased a speedboat for 36,000 Chinese yuan (approximately USD 5,036) at Sandu'ao port in Ningde, Fujian Province, on June 8.
He departed from the port around 10 p.m. on the same day and arrived at Tamsui ferry pier in northern Taiwan around 9 a.m. the next morning, Focus Taiwan reported.
Taiwan's Coast Guard began tracking the vessel after receiving reports that it had collided with a local passenger boat near Fisherman's Wharf, as stated by the prosecutors.
Upon reaching the shore, the man indicated that he had come to surrender himself after travelling from China. He expressed a desire to escape China and claimed he sought democracy, but was detained by the Coast Guard, who also confiscated his boat and GPS device.
According to the prosecutors, the man took the risk of coming to Taiwan seeking asylum due to restrictions on his leaving the country due to certain problematic remarks made before the escape.
After the Coast Guard transferred him to prosecutors, they requested detention from the district court, which was approved, leading to his confinement at a National Immigration Agency detention centre.
Initially, there were concerns about potential national security threats due to the man's background as a Chinese Communist Party member and the extra fuel in his boat.
However, the investigation revealed no evidence of military or national security activities, and no suspicious communication with Taiwanese individuals was found on his phone. He also had only a small amount of foreign currency, including Japanese yen and Singapore dollars.
Prosecutors did not suggest a specific sentence, but under the Immigration Act, illegal entrants to Taiwan face up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to NTS 500,000 (approximately USD 15,498).
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