US embassy cable - 05TAIPEI2122

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 002122 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS AIT/W 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, ASEC, TW, Human Rights/TIP 
SUBJECT: BEIJING BLOCKING TAIWAN EFFORTS TO REPATRIATE PRC 
CITIZENS 
 
REF: BEIJING 6436 
 
1. (SBU) Summary.  PRC reluctance to accept back its own 
citizens detained in Taiwan as illegal immigrants, including 
many TIP victims, creates unnecessary hardship for both 
groups and a heavy financial burden on the Taiwan government. 
 Contrary to claims by Beijing authorities (reftel) that the 
PRC cooperates with other governments in repatriating its 
citizens, Taiwan's Bureau of Immigration reports that there 
are hundreds of Chinese illegal immigrants who have been 
waiting for long periods to return to the PRC, many for more 
than one, some more than two years.  End summary. 
 
2. (SBU) Statistics provided by the Taiwan Bureau of 
Immigration show that of the 922 female PRC illegal 
immigrants currently in detention at the Hsinchu Detention 
Center, 404 have been waiting for more than 6 months, 407 for 
1-2 years, and 11 for more than 2 years.  (Note: AIT 
interviewed two PRC trafficking victims in early April, one 
of whom was 15 years old and had been waiting over 18 months 
and the other victim who had been waiting over two years to 
be accepted back by the PRC.  End note).  The Taiwan Red 
Cross calculates the average time for the 2240 total number 
of male and female PRC detainees in Taiwan waiting to be 
returned to Mainland China is nine months. 
 
3. (SBU) This is in sharp contrast to illegal immigrants from 
Southeast Asian countries, which often accept the return of 
their citizens within days of being apprehended by Taiwan 
authorities.  The National Police Administration told AIT 
that all illegal immigrants in Taiwan must be repatriated 
within 15 days according to Taiwan immigration law.  For 
non-PRC illegal immigrants, the length of stay depends on how 
quickly they obtain travel documents to return home, ranging 
from a few days to a week. 
 
4. (SBU) The Red Cross serves as the intermediary between 
Taipei and Beijing in the repatriation process.  Taiwan has 
developed a repatriation system based on prioritization, with 
trafficking victims, pregnant women, and those requiring 
medical attention placed at the top of the list.  All other 
PRC illegal immigrants are placed on the repatriation list 
according to the date they first entered Taiwanese detention 
centers.  The Taiwan Red Cross submits a list of PRC 
detainees to the PRC Red Cross for transmittal to authorities 
in Beijing.  Beijing officials then review the list and 
verify the identification information provided on the 
immigrants.  The list is then returned to Taiwanese 
authorities but is typically altered with some PRC citizens 
refused repatriation with no explanation given for the 
decision.  Taiwan has no recourse to appeal the PRC 
government's refusal to accept some of the immigrants. 
 
5. (SBU) The PRC Red Cross sets a date for the repatriation 
from Taiwan once permission from Beijing is obtained.  There 
is no consistent system for repatriation dates since Beijing 
must provide authorization to the Red Cross before dates can 
be allocated.  Statistics from the Taiwan Red Cross show that 
illegal immigrants are usually repatriated monthly but that 
there are sometimes long periods with no repatriations such 
as February to August 2004 and October to December 2004. 
Taiwan authorities told AIT that this uneven timing of 
repatriation dates reflects Beijing's assessment of the state 
of political relations between Beijing and Taipei.  When 
Beijing sees positive developments in cross-Strait relations, 
cooperation improves and repatriations increase. 
 
6. (SBU)  Taiwan Immigration Bureau statistics report that 
there are currently 2240 illegal immigrants from the PRC 
waiting to be repatriated.  The following number of PRC 
illegal immigrants were detained and repatriated from 2002 to 
2005: 
 
2002: 2032 detained, 1402 returned in 9 repatriations 
 
 
2003: 3458 detained, 2237 returned in 14 repatriations 
 
 
2004: 1783 detained, 1440 returned in 9 repatriations 
 
 
2005: 375 detained (through March), 850 returned in 5 
repatriations (through April) 
 
7. (SBU) Taiwan government officials told AIT that they wish 
to repatriate illegal immigrants back to the PRC as soon as 
possible and are deeply frustrated by Beijing's delays and 
frequent passing over of certain illegal immigrants for no 
reason.  Taiwan immigration officials and the Taiwan Red 
Cross, however, added that once PRC immigrants are returned 
to the Mainland, many face additional hardships such as stiff 
monetary fines or measures taken against their families for 
their attempt to leave the PRC. 
 
8. (SBU) Comment.  Beijing's refusal to accept the return of 
its citizens in a timely manner from Taiwan goes beyond 
politics to become a question of human rights.  While Beijing 
has accepted on average approximately 11 repatriations per 
year since 2002, the erratic timing of the repatriations and 
the high number of PRC illegal immigrants detained combined 
with Beijing's refusal to accept all immigrants submitted for 
repatriation has resulted in hardships for the illegal 
immigrants who are forced to languish in overcrowded 
detention centers.  Many of the PRC women detained as illegal 
immigrants are determined to be TIP victims and placed in a 
separate facility.  Most wish to return home to the Mainland 
as soon as possible, but are not permitted do so by Beijing. 
The delay in repatriating the PRC's TIP victims has unfairly 
tarnished Taipei's international reputation for its 
performance in dealing with the issue of trafficking in 
persons.  Moreover, the Taiwan government must house and feed 
the large numbers of illegal immigrants and TIP victims at 
considerable expense.  AIT believes that Beijing authorities 
should be encouraged to accept the return of all PRC citizens 
and do so without conditions so that Taiwan does not have to 
unfairly bear the brunt of Beijing's delays.  End comment. 
PAAL