When the ship named Strait left Matsu on Dec. 25, 2003, over 170 stowaways, being repatriated from Taiwan to the Chinese mainland, had no regrets at leaving the island.

"I had never suffered so much," said Xiao Yun, a female stowaway, still living under the shadow of life in Taiwan.

They threw Taiwan coins into the sky. "It is to get rid of bad luck and forget the miserable life there," one said.

Xiao Yun, a former cashier in a city of west China's Guizhou Province, went to Taiwan in the hope of earning more money. But she was forced into prostitution, the fate of most female stowaways.

The young woman at her twenties could not help trembling when recalling the frightening journey to Taiwan with 13 others.

"We crowded on a small, creaky boat, shouting and crying in fear as waves rocked the boat. We thought we would die and never see our parents again," said Xiao Yun.

Xiao Li, another girl who was sent back, spent three days and nights at sea for the journey of 160 km. "They gave us only a bottle of water," she said.

The girls were usually crammed into a dark cabin, usually seven or eight, but sometimes more than ten together.

"We were not allowed to speak on the boat," said Xiao Yun. The "snakehead", a nickname for human-smugglers, threatened to throw them overboard if they did.

This threat was carried out on August 26 last year, when snakeheads from Taiwan pushed 26 mainland women into the sea in order to escape arrest. Six women drowned.

The skipper of the smuggling boat was sentenced to death at the Miaoli District Court in central Taiwan for murder.

In the last two years, over 20 stowaways have died on their way to Taiwan.

However, the number of people sneaking into Taiwan from the mainland has climbed. Last year, 2,225 people were sent back from Taiwan to south China's Fujian Province, an increase of 40 percent over last year, said Deng Benyuan, a senior border police officer in Fujian.

"The people come from at least 20 provinces and regions around China and women account for a larger percentage than ever before," said Deng.

Most of the women smuggled to Taiwan are poorly educated. About60 percent of them had only primary education or were illiterate, said Wang Bing, also a senior border police officer in Fujian.

They believed Taiwan was a place of wealth where they could earn over ten times more than back home. They were lured by promises of a better life, but ended up in prostitution.

Lin is luckier than most as she found a job in a vegetable market in Taiwan, at a promised monthly payment of 7,000 yuan (US$846).

However, just before she was to be paid, Lin was caught by police and put into detention.

"I realized it is a trick by the boss to escape paying us," said Lin.

These young girls also suffer pains of disgrace and regret. "I even thought of suicide. My husband might not accept me if he knows what I did in Taiwan," said a married woman.

The central government has been taking people smuggling very seriously. President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have expressed concern over this issue. In Fujian, where most smuggling occurs, police authorities have listed it as a priority crime.

In 2003, border police in Fujian cracked 98 cases, concerning 930 people. More than 430 people involved in people trafficking were caught from 2000 to November 2003, including 52 Taiwanese.

However, high profits drive snakeheads to take risks. The net profit for a woman smuggled in was about 75,000 new Taiwan dollars (US$2,270), said Li Yi, a mainland snakehead in detention in Fuzhou Municipal Bureau of Public Security, Fujian.

Most of the money went to Taiwanese snakeheads who were the upper end organizers, said Li.

"Sneaking into Taiwan is not a road to gold, but leads to death," said Wei Zhongci, deputy director of the office of Taiwan affairs in Fujian.

The young girls repatriated were happy to be caught by the police.

"Finally, we can end the prostitution and have enough food," said Xiao Li.

(Xinhua News Agency February 4, 2004)