A father and son from mainland China used an inflatable boat to illegally enter Taoyuan, Taiwan, and reported to the police upon landing, claiming "pursuit of freedom." Taiwanese authorities are investigating to clarify their motive.
As the incident occurred on the eve of President Lai Ching-te's anniversary in office on May 20, the case is quite sensitive. Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration stated, "It cannot be ruled out that this is a gray zone harassment by the Chinese Communist Party."
According to Taiwanese media reports, the father and son, surnamed Song, crossed the Taiwan Strait on an inflatable boat on the 15th, landing on the left side of the Guanyin Beach in Taoyuan. On the morning of the 16th, they called the police claiming "to pursue freedom." The Northern Branch of the Taiwan Coast Guard Administration took the father and son in for questioning and later referred them to the Taoyuan District Prosecutor's Office and the Taoyuan Juvenile Court.
Yuan Xuehua, the administrative director of the Taoyuan District Court, said in the early morning of the 17th that the judge believed the minor lived with his father and had little choice in the decision to illegally enter Taiwan. Considering the minor's psychological and physical development and the circumstances of the case, it was deemed unnecessary to detain him. The minor was therefore placed under the care of the Coast Guard Administration and then transferred to the Taoyuan Professional Task Force of the Immigration Agency.
Reports indicate that the 41-year-old man from Yunnan, surnamed Song, allegedly claimed to have been "persecuted" in mainland China. He then took his 17-year-old son from Fujian on an inflatable boat only 3.3 meters long to Taiwan. In addition to life jackets, the small boat carried two barrels of fuel, a paddle, and a bottle of mountain spring water, but no change of clothes. Whether the motive for illegal entry is as simple as the father's claim of "pursuit of freedom" remains to be investigated.
It was revealed that the pair chose to illegally enter Taiwan ahead of the "520" anniversary of Lai Ching-te's administration, drawing intense attention from national security units. Moreover, the location of the illegal entry, Taoyuan's Guanyin Beach, is the "red beach" where Taiwan's Army regularly conducts live-fire exercises to prevent People's Liberation Army landings.
The Coast Guard Administration reported that from January until now, there have been five cases of illegal entry involving 38 people, with an 80% case detection rate and a 94.7% suspect apprehension rate.
● Radar Ineffective in Detecting Inflatable Boats
The Coast Guard Administration stated that the inflatable boat used by the father and son cannot be effectively detected by radar. Recently, mainland China has employed various methods to test Taiwan's responses, even pairing military exercises with small-object illegal entries. "It cannot be ruled out that this is a gray zone harassment by the Chinese Communist Party."
The Coast Guard Administration emphasized that it is pushing for relevant budget allocations to actively install infrared thermal imaging and other shore-based sea surveillance systems, increase vessel capacity, and enhance multi-dimensional reconnaissance capabilities, strengthening defense resilience.