Chinese father and son arrested after sailing to Taiwan illegally

Taipei, May 17 (CNA) The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Northern Branch on Friday night said that they have arrested two Chinese nationals after they sailed into Taiwan illegally on a rubber boat that morning, arriving at Guanyin Beach in Taoyuan.

After CGA officers arrested the two, their rubber boat was seized, and they were later transferred to prosecutors for investigation, the branch said in a news statement.

On Saturday, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office told the media that the two were a father and son. Prosecutors have requested detention of the father, a 41-year-old surnamed Song (宋), on suspicion of illegally entering Taiwan.

The Taoyuan District Court said the 17-year-old son was transferred to the National Immigration Agency's Special Operations Brigade in Taoyuan after they determined that detention was unnecessary, given his status as a minor and the likelihood that he was simply following his father's lead.

The court said they expect to question Song on Saturday.

According to sources, Song said that he fled to Taiwan for "freedom" because he was persecuted in China. However, his stated motives are yet to be verified.

The CGA Northern Branch said in its statement that the pair sailed to Taiwan on a rubber boat only 3.3 meters in length, which was difficult to detect with radar.

Considering that China has been continuously testing Taiwan's responses, even smuggling small targets to Taiwan during their military exercises, the CGA did not rule out the possibility that Song's action was a gray zone intrusion, the branch said.

Since January, there have been five smuggling cases involving 38 people, according to the CGA.

The CGA said it is seeking budgets to install coastal monitoring systems such as thermal imaging cameras, expand patrol ship capacities, and purchase more equipment that enhances stereoscopic monitoring abilities, to strengthen its defense resilience and ensure the security of the country.