Premier Cho vows speedy review of Chinese boat incidents

Taipei, Sept. 16 (CNA) Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Monday assured the public that the government will promptly review several Chinese nationals recently caught entering Taiwan illegally by boat.

Ensuring national security is the "unshakable responsibility" of the government, Cho told reporters at a Cathay United Bank event after another Chinese national was found arriving on a rubber dinghy in waters near New Taipei last week, following a similar incident in June.

He said the government was closely following those incidents, adding that the Coast Guard and military personnel would fulfill their duties to ensure national security.

According to Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA), the New Taipei Fire Department reported on Sept. 14 that a suspicious man in a rubber dinghy was spotted near the Houkeng River estuary in New Taipei's Linkou District.

The individual was later identified as a 30-year-old Chinese national surnamed Wang (王), who was about 100 meters from the shore when he was picked up by CGA personnel and then sent to a hospital as he was severely dehydrated.

During subsequent questioning, Wang told the CGA that he was in debt in China and hoped to start a new life in Taiwan.

Earlier in June, a Chinese man sailed a speedboat into the Tamsui River, and the CGA was only alerted of the matter after the former had collided with other vessels at a ferry terminal.

At a press conference on Monday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) said Taiwan's long coastline makes it difficult to rely solely on maritime patrols.

Obtaining a larger budget for improved monitoring technologies that adopt artificial intelligence would be a huge plus for the coast guard, Tsai said, expressing hope for Cho's support.

Meanwhile, Kuomintang (KMT) legislative caucus Secretary-General Lin Szu-ming (林思銘) slammed the CGA for being slow to react to both incidents.

Lin also criticized Ocean Affairs Council (OAC) Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) for failing to put forth concrete solutions to secure the coast.

Regarding last Saturday's illegal entry, Lin rebutted Kuan's earlier statement that there was no human error in the case, saying the CGA needed to purchase more advanced equipment for surveillance and reconnaissance.

He said the lack of equipment had already been discussed before, but the OAC did nothing about it.