Investigations are ongoing into a 30-year-old Chinese national surnamed Wang who illegally entered Taiwan on September 14th by rubber dinghy. Security analysts say humanitarian responsibilities are something Taiwan must bear on top of the threat Beijing poses to national security.
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00:00Seeking a new life is what this man said he was doing when he attempted to enter Taiwan
00:06from China in a rubber dinghy.
00:08Now Taiwanese prosecutors are working to determine his true motives.
00:12The 30-year-old man, known only by his surname Wang, reportedly got on the inflatable boat
00:18here at a beach in Ningbo in China's eastern Zhejiang province.
00:23Then after five days at sea in the under-four-meter vessel, he was spotted here, more than 500
00:29kilometers away near the Hougang River estuary in northern New Taipei City.
00:36Taiwan's Coast Guard found Wang severely dehydrated and was sent to hospital before eventually
00:41being detained without bail.
00:53Chinese nationals illegally coming to Taiwan is a sensitive issue, given Beijing's claims
00:59of sovereignty over the self-ruled nation and its threat to invade.
01:03Any Chinese breach raises national security alerts for Taipei.
01:08That ranges from any acts of military coercion to civilian fishing boats crossing into Taiwanese
01:13waters.
01:14In June, another Chinese man was indicted for illegally entering Taiwan from China by
01:20speedboat.
01:21Initially triggering national security concerns, it was later found that there was insufficient
01:27evidence of military or espionage motives.
01:30Wang is now the third person this year to enter Taiwan illegally from China, and the
01:3618th in the last two years.
01:38But pointing to Wang's choice of vehicle, an easily punctured rubber dinghy, security
01:43analysts note providing humanitarian aid is a responsibility Taiwan must bear on top of
01:50potential security threats.
01:52One of the things that the Coast Guard really should be focused on really first and foremost
01:56is search and rescue and the humanitarian aspect of the responsibilities.
02:02You have to look at this with a certain level of suspicion, understandably, but also keep
02:07in mind these are still people that could be coming here because of other scenarios
02:13that may have brought them over.
02:15As investigations continue, Taiwan's Coast Guard is also working on upping its surveillance
02:20technology, given their radars did not detect Wang's drifting rubber boat.
02:26An effort to remain vigilant to protect the territorial waters and the people in them
02:31who may need help.
02:33Yixin Chen, Jaime Ocon, and Joyce Chen for Taiwan Plus.