US embassy cable - 05TAIPEI3527

UNCLAS TAIPEI 003527 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/TC AND CA/FPP 
HONG KONG PLEASE PASS TO DHS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CVIS, ASEC, PGOV, TW, Consular Reports, Cross Strait Politics, Domestic Politics 
SUBJECT:  TAIWAN AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATE MAJOR ALIEN 
SMUGGLING RING 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary: Local authorities are actively 
investigating a Taiwan-based alien smuggling ring that uses 
Taiwan national ID cards and passports belonging to 
aboriginal people from eastern Taiwan to smuggle illegal 
Mainland Chinese aliens into the United States and Canada. 
Information routinely provided by AIT regarding fraudulent 
use of Taiwan documents led to this investigation. End 
Summary. 
 
2.  (U) As reported in the Taiwan print and television media 
on August 23, 2005, local authorities are actively 
investigating a Taiwan-based alien smuggling ring that uses 
Taiwan national ID cards and passports belonging to 
aboriginal people from the Hualien area of eastern Taiwan to 
smuggle illegal Mainland Chinese aliens into the United 
States and Canada via a third country.  According to local 
media reports, the ring used two methods to obtain the 
passports.  In the first method, they purchased the 
aborigines' national ID cards, altered the photos, and then 
applied for Taiwan passports using the altered ID cards. 
Local investigators believe that one or more travel agencies 
may have worked with a government official in issuing these 
fraudulent passports. 
 
3.  (U) The second method was to bring the aborigines to AIT 
to apply for U.S. visas.  According to newspaper reports, 
because the U.S. government requires that every tourist visa 
applicant must appear in person for interview, the smuggling 
ring altered the passport photo to meld the features of the 
original passport holder and those of a specific Mainland 
Chinese immigrant, in order to "fool AIT interviewing 
officers."  Regardless of method, the aborigines were then 
given a free 5-7 day trip to another Southeast Asian country 
(Cambodia and Vietnam are specifically mentioned in the 
media reports) plus NT$50,000 (approximately US$1515) with 
the condition that upon arrival in the third country, they 
were to "lend" their passports to the "tour leader" 
(actually a member of the smuggling ring).  The "tour 
leader" then passed them to Mainland Chinese who had already 
arrived in the country, and escorted them to the United 
States or Canada.  Immediately upon successful entry, the 
"tour leader" then took back the passports, rushed back to 
Southeast Asia, and returned the passports to their original 
owners.  For this, the smuggling ring received US$70,000 per 
head from the illegal Mainland Chinese aliens. 
 
4. (U) According to the press reports, aboriginal villages 
of eastern Taiwan are prime targets for this smuggling ring, 
as the people there tend to be poorer.  The aborigines 
interviewed by the police admitted that they knew what they 
were doing, though they claimed they did not know that what 
they were doing was illegal.  They stated that they could 
not resist the NT$50,000 fee, which is half a year's 
household budget in these villages. 
 
5.  (U) As best we can tell, this investigation started in 
early 2005 when AIT's Fraud Prevention Unit forwarded to the 
Taiwan authorities reports of illegal Mainland Chinese 
trying to enter the United States using fraudulently 
obtained Taiwan passports.  Many of these reports, provided 
to AIT by Department of Homeland Security offices at several 
U.S. ports-of-entry, now appear to be related to the current 
investigation. 
 
5. AIT's Fraud Prevention Unit is continuing to work closely 
with local authorities to gather additional information on 
the individuals involved in this case, and will update this 
report as additional information becomes available. 
 
KEEGAN