Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that two mainland Chinese men were arrested after sneaking into Taiwan ahead of the Han Kuang military exercises.
On Monday, a Taiwanese citizen posted on the social media platform Threads, alleging that if it weren’t for a fisherman proactively reporting the case, the Coast Guard would have been completely unaware, as the stowaways had already abandoned their boat and left. The CGA confirmed that they received the tip-off on July 24, and, following up on clues, arrested the two mainland Chinese men on July 30 on suspicion of illegal entry.
The netizen stated in the post that over three consecutive days around July 24, a fisherman fishing near Bali Beach, close to Taipei Port, noticed an extra rubber boat on the shore. Initially disregarded, upon closer inspection, the fisherman found the boat contained fuel barrels made in mainland China, toilet paper with Simplified Chinese characters, Pepsi sold on the mainland, fishing rods, and three life jackets, prompting an immediate report to authorities.
The post further claimed that after receiving the report, the CGA repeatedly called and messaged the reporting citizen to “show concern,” using ambiguous phrases like “investigation confidentiality,” “it could affect the case,” “the case has been handed over to the District Prosecutors’ Office,” and “we are protecting you,” thereby pressuring the citizen not to leak photos of the scene.
According to combined reports by China Times News Network and ETtoday News Cloud, the Northern Branch of the CGA received a citizen’s call on July 24 reporting a rubber dinghy found by the northern embankment of Taipei Port. Coast Guard personnel were immediately dispatched to investigate, initiating forensic procedures and a full-scale pursuit by reviewing shore and sea surveillance footage.
On July 30, following leads, Coast Guard personnel apprehended two male mainland Chinese nationals, surnamed Luan (age 35) and Yu (age 44), at a park in Taoyuan, who were then transferred to the National Immigration Agency for detention. On August 3, the Shilin District Prosecutor’s Office summoned both men for questioning, confirmed their unauthorized entry into Taiwan, and determined there was a risk of flight. That day, the prosecutor’s office applied for and was granted their detention by the court for violating Taiwan’s Immigration Act and related offenses.
The CGA’s investigation also revealed lapses in standard operating procedures by duty personnel in this case, indicating human error. CGA Director-General Chang Chung-lung expressed sincere apologies, stressing that no negligence will be covered up and that responsibilities of those involved will be strictly pursued.