Taiwan prosecutors seek two-year jail terms for Chinese men who crossed Strait on dinghy
Two Chinese nationals who sailed a rubber dinghy across the Taiwan Strait were indicted, with prosecutors asking for two-year prison sentences for each.
Luan and Yu departed Qingdao on July 19, bought an outboard motor in Jinhua, and set out from Fuzhou on a rubber dinghy on July 22, arriving at Taipei Port’s northern jetty around 2 a.m. on July 23. They moved through New Taipei, Taipei, Hsinchu, Taichung and Taoyuan before being apprehended at Chaoyang Forest Park in Taoyuan on July 30. The Coast Guard Administration investigated the case after a fisherman reported the abandoned vessel, and the suspects were placed in incommunicado detention on August 3.
Prosecutors relied on statements, phone data, surveillance footage and DNA evidence to charge them with violations of the Immigration Act and the Cross-Strait Act. Citing “substantive harm” to border control and “severe public anxiety,” the indictment seeks two-year prison terms for each man.
Why it matters
The case highlights Taiwan's strict immigration enforcement and sensitivities around unauthorized crossings from mainland China.
In this story
