Policy Center/Full Report
▲ Matsu related to lobster (photo/provided by legislator Hong Shenhan)
Legislator Hong Shenhan of the Democratic Progressive Party and Li Wen, chairman of the Lianjiang County Party Committee of the Democratic Progressive Party, held a press conference today (4th), and pointed out that from September to November last year, lobsters lives from Australia subsequently departed from Matsu, bound only for sika deer. Daqiu Island; but in reality, they went to the waters near Gaodeng Island and smuggled them on Chinese ships. Not only did they make 33 trips, a total of 3,313 boxes, the weight was estimated to be more than 60,000 kilograms, and the Chinese market price reached NT$200 million. Questioned “Why can the port office of the county government approve the outrageous Daegu route without rigorous review?”, And criticized the passive prosecution and leniency of smuggling.
Hong Shenhan said that since Australia blamed the Wuhan lab for the pneumonia outbreak in 2020, China has banned the importation into China of several Australian products that account for the majority of exports, one of which is the australian lobster. However, the Chinese are still very fond of eating lobsters, so smugglers have started using their brains on lobsters. It used to be smuggled out of Hong Kong, but after the crackdown in Hong Kong was tightened, business opportunities worth hundreds of millions of dollars began to be transferred to the outlying islands closest to China, one of which is Matsu.
Li Wen said that a few days ago, he publicly appealed to the Lianjiang county government to pay attention to the fact that the plane’s cargo was occupied by lobsters. On October 20 alone, more than 1,400 kilograms of lobsters were transported by air. from the main island of Taiwan to Matsu, seriously hampering the transportation of people’s livelihoods. From September to November, Matsu has no history of exporting lobsters. In addition, according to the departure log of the Matsu area lobster cargo ship, although everyone requested the route to Daegu, after comparing the track map, they sailed to the waters near Gao Deng Island where no there are residents and only garrisons.
Li Wen questioned whether in October 2020, Haiyuan, one of the lobster cargo ships, received a letter to the magistrate from the Maritime and Port Bureau of the Ministry of Communications. Because the cargo ship has not completed the inspection, the boat license will also expire in December of the same year. If it fails the inspection, the vessel should be banned from leaving the port. Why the county government allowed a boat with an expired license to go to sea, and also allowed it to load a large number of lobsters to sail to an uninhabited island, is truly unpredictable.
▼▲Sea Patrol Boarding Inspection Photo-Chengfeng, Haiyuan (Photo/provided by the legislator Hong Shenhan)
In response to these concerns, lawmaker Hong Shenhan also expressed further concerns to the Coast Guard. Hong Shenhan pointed out that from September to November last year, a total of 32 cargo ships transported a large number of lobsters to Daqiu, “the uninhabited island among the outlying islands.” “the Lianjiang county government says it’s okay”? Will the Coast Guard not be able to see it? Hong Shenhan went on to say that indeed, the official documents reviewed show that the Coast Guard had found on Oct. 11 that lobster boats may be engaged in illegal activities, but did not immediately seek evidence for every lobster boat that leaves the port immediately upon discovery. , Follow the prison, take the initiative to send ships to hunt, and allow more than 20 other lobster smuggling boats to leave the port, so that the boats known to be suspected of smuggling challenge the public power, and even who are the owner and the recipient when they report it, it is not clear.
Hong Shenhan stressed that according to the trail map provided by the Coast Guard, the two smuggling vessels involved in the case did not actually go to Daqiu, the destination they asked the Lianjiang County Port Bureau, but to the sea at the off Gaodeng Island. Exit the island. Hong Shenhan harshly criticizes that the Coast Guard wrote on its official website that “coastal patrol is the foundation of national security”, which is really ironic; Gordon Island is an important frontline defense area of the National Army. , did Matsu’s patrol area officer loosen the screw?
Finally, Li Wen said that rumors are circulating in Matsu that there are politicians acting as “door gods” and pressuring the relevant units to let them go. She hopes prosecutors will use the “don’t pervert and let go” spirit to actively investigate and dissuade government units from covering up smuggling activities; lawmaker Hong Shenhan also Public warning, it is known that lobster smuggling is not only happening in Matsu, there are other outlying islands that are still “in progress”. Is the smuggling operation in the outlying area of the island operated by illegal groups for a long time? Hong Shenhan has asked the Coast Guard to actively investigate and arrest, and must keep relevant evidence. If there is progress in the case, he will report to the public in due course.
▼▲ The Mazu departure log of a cargo ship carrying lobsters (photo/provided by legislator Hong Shenhan)
▲Li Wen (R), department chairman of the Lianjiang County Democratic Progressive Party, and Hong Shenhan (Left), legislator of the Democratic Progressive Party, jointly held a press conference to accuse the Lianjiang County government of being suspected of covering up smuggling. (Image / flip from Facebook)
