TAIPEI has paid for the repatriation of more than 40 Fujianese illegal immigrants from Guatemala to China in what is believed to be the first official sign of recognition that Taiwan is being used to smuggle illegal immigrants to the United States.
The politically sensitive move is believed to be part of a crackdown on snakeheads who use Taiwanese fishing boats to smuggle thousands of mainland Chinese to the US in a multi-million dollar human cargo racket.
However, with a dramatic increase in the number of illegal immigrants being caught in North and Central America, the move could lead to more destination countries asking Taiwan to foot the bill for other repatriations.
The cost of this weekend's flight, from Guatemala to China's southeast coast, is believed to be under US$1 million (HK$7.8 million) as there are only 46 people and the chartered jet is taking the most direct route.
No Taiwanese officials were available for comment yesterday. A US spokesman in Hong Kong yesterday confirmed the Taiwanese Government had paid for the flight from Guatemala to the city of Xiamen, in Fujian province.
The illegal immigrants, who are being escorted by 10 Hong Kong security guards, are due to arrive in Fujian, where most US-bound illegal immigrants come from, tonight.