A Chinese man has successfully smuggled himself across Taiwan from Fujian in a rubber boat. As the man was found only after disembarkation, Taiwan’s Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-ching said Monday (May 3) that the navy and sea patrol usually have relevant agreements, this time there are indeed deficiencies, the need to find out the reasons and improve.
A Chinese man set out from Shishi City, Fujian Province on April 30, driving a “military grade” rubber boat purchased from a Chinese website to cross the Taiwan Strait. The man went all the way unhindered and was only found by construction workers after disembarking from Taichung port to call the police.
Taiwan’s “Free Times” reported that the man surnamed Zhou claimed that he had not committed any crime in mainland China and was not a wanted criminal, and that he had come to Taiwan from Fujian to join democracy and freedom.
The man has now been taken to the Coast Guard detention center for quarantine and isolation, and the authorities are investigating the case.
The director of the 4th Patrol District Command of the Coast Guard, Hung Yee-shun, said, “It’s possible that he was covered by a large cargo ship or a large object, that part we are all still checking at the moment.”
Taiwan’s Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-ching also responded to the matter before being questioned by the Legislative Yuan on Monday. He said the navy and the sea patrol usually have some agreements, will make up for the assistance. The company’s main business is to provide a wide range of products and services to the public.
Chiu Kuo-cheng said that there may be a shortcoming in maritime liaison, and that the causes need to be identified and then gradually improved, adding, “This is a shortcoming that can be made up.”
Taiwan Navy Command said in a statement on Monday, “The Navy usually uses shore-based radar stations and various districts to detect aircraft and ships, combined with various identification systems to carry out joint intelligence monitoring and detection, to grasp the dynamics of our maritime strain area aircraft and ships.”
The statement also said, “The sea target is divided by the navy, sea patrol and shore patrol hierarchical mastery, for the target radar traces small, difficult to grasp the rubber boat, raft and other targets, the army will work with the sea patrol to discuss the response, closely monitor the surrounding waters.”
The Chinese Communist Party has recently been frequently active around Taiwan, and the Binzhou missile frigate was even present in the northeastern waters of Taiwan on Saturday. The smuggling of the man surnamed Zhou has also raised some concerns and suspicions amid rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
Lv Lishi, a former captain of the navy’s Xinjiang warship, said on Facebook, “The Chinese man surnamed Zhou departed from Shishi City when the wave height was precisely 0.4 meters tending to 0.2 meters and the wind shifted from 3 to 2, and about the same when he landed at Taichung Harbor; how did (he) learn about the change in sea conditions from the abbreviated weather forecast?”
“The biggest problem was how to navigate! In the middle of the vast ocean, either with a north (south) pointing needle or a cell phone to locate it, did the sea patrol find it?” Lü Lisi wrote.
Apple Daily reported that, after the media asked whether this stowaway was sent by the Chinese Communist Party to test the secret service? And whether the Navy will increase infrared detection searches in the future? The company’s main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers.
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