Via the "three small links," abducted Coast Guard officer Chiang Shao-nan (
Five officials took a Taiwanese fishing boat to Fujian's Mawei Port to retrieve Chiang.
People First Party (PFP) Legislator Tsao Yuan-jhang (
PHOTO: CNA
The group of officials arrived in Lienchiang County around 6pm last night. Chiang's M-16 rifle that had been taken by his abductors was also returned.
"We are happy to see Chiang's early and safe return," said Lienchiang County Commissioner Chen Shuei-sheng (陳雪生) at a press conference. Chiang undertook a simple physical examination and was found to be unharmed.
Chiang, 29, who is married with two children, expressed his gratitude to those who had helped him.
He said he was abducted by Chinese fishermen around noon on Sunday while patrolling with his colleagues.
They were investigating the Chinese fishing boat Min Chang Yu 4108, which had crossed into Taiwan's territorial waters.
When Chiang and three of his colleagues boarded the fishing boat, Chiang said there was chaos as the fishermen confronted the officers. He said the officers unloaded their weapons to make sure they did not accidentally shoot anyone.
When the fishermen threatened Chiang and a colleague with a knife, two other officers retreated back to the coast guard vessel.
The officer who remained with Chiang managed to jump overboard while the fishing boat motored away.
The early return of Chiang was made possible after the Straits Exchange Foundation, the Lienchiang County Government and the Red Cross Society's Matsu branch negotiated with their counterparts in China.
Foundation Secretary-General Shi Hwei-you (
"The abduction was a crime preventing law enforcement officials from performing their duty," Shi said. "Chinese authorities should bring the offenders to justice so as to prevent similar crimes from happening again."
Chiang's case was not the first of its kind. Since 1991, a number of incidents have taken place in the Taiwan Strait during which Taiwanese law enforcement officers have been abducted and taken to China.
The five Taiwanese officials who accompanied Chiang on his trip home were the Mainland Affairs Council's Lienchiang-based officer Liu Yu-fa (劉玉發), quasi-official Straits Exchange Foundation officer Su Hsiang-chuan (蘇祥銓), Coast Guard Administration officer Ho Shih-ching (何士青), director of Lienchiang County's Transportation Bureau Liu Teh-chuan (劉德全) and Lin Shih-tung (林志東), section chief of Lienchiang County's Tourism Bureau governing mainland affairs.
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