A Chinese man is being treated for severe dehydration after landing on a beach in northern Taiwan in a rubber boat early this morning, Saturday, September 14.
According to reports, the 31-year-old man, named Wang, was spotted by anglers when he was around 100 meters from the shore in Linkou District, New Taipei City, at around 6:30 am. Coast guard officers from Zhuwei Fishing Port and firefighters from the New Taipei City Fire Department responded to reports, and helped the man ashore.
Wang was wearing a surgical mask, long pants, and a long-sleeve jacket, and was badly sunburned. Paramedics from the New Taipei City Fire Department took Wang to Chang Gung General Hospital to be treated for severe dehydration.
Wang claimed to have spent 5 days crossing the Taiwan Strait from Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China, saying that he was heavily in debt, and wanted to start a new life in Taiwan.
Taiwan’s National Coast Guard Administration said that Wang’s inflatable boat was just 3.6 meters long, and was moving slowly or drifting, therefore it was undetectable on radar.
Wang is the second person in three months to arrive on the shores of northern Taiwan after crossing the strait from China in a small boat. On June 9, a 60-year-old man, named Ruan, was arrested after arriving in a fishing port at Tamsui, New Taipei City, in a speedboat.
The National Coast Guard Administration started a review process to investigate ways to better detect the incursion of small boats into coastal waters after the June 9 incident.
The place where Wang arrived this morning is just a few kilometers from where Ruan landed, with the landings flanking critical defense infrastructure, including the mouth of Tamsui River and the Port of Taipei.
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