Taipei and Manila have reached a consensus on initiating a joint investigation into the shooting of Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-cheng (洪石成) by Philippine Coast Guard personnel and will soon work out how to proceed with the matter, Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) said yesterday.
Lin saw the agreement a “positive” step toward resolving the diplomatic spat.
Both sides have agreed to arrange for the other side to conduct fact-finding trips in their respective countries to discover the truth behind the fatal shooting and have shown willingness to cooperate with each other during their individual investigations, Lin said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Justice
The bilateral cooperation in the case was termed, both by Lin and Philippine Department of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, as a “parallel investigation” instead of a “joint investigation” to avoid concerns on both sides of sovereign interference.
A bilateral mechanism to enable cooperation on the case was established when Taiwan’s investigative team visited Manila late last week and both sides have presented their requests to open investigation in writing to each other, Lin said.
“With the consensus, both sides will determine an agenda and items of cooperation for their investigations on the principle of reciprocity to facilitate the uncovering of the truth and subsequent punishment of those responsible,” Lin said.
After a two-day stay in Manila, the Taiwanese team returned home on Saturday “dissatisfied.” During their stay in Manila, several Philippine officials told them that a joint investigation was “out of question.”
An official familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that the rhetoric by both sides came at a time when tensions were at a peak and were uttered as a “political gesture” to show their discontent with each other.
Manila does not have a problem with Taiwan investigating the case in the Philippines, the official said, adding “the tense atmosphere last week was not conducive to negotiation, which was why the investigation team returned on Saturday seemingly empty-handed.”
The ministry added in a press release that Manila Economic and Cultural Office Chairman Amadeo Perez visited Taiwan’s representative office in Manila on Friday to say that a meeting could be set up today for the investigative team to meet with personnel from the Philippines Bureau of National Investigation.
Both sides will allow prosecutors from the other side to “interrogate witnesses” and look into evidence related to the incident, the ministry said, adding that Taiwan will soon send a delegation to the Philippines after personnel with judicial departments of both sides finalize details on how to cooperate with their investigations.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Ming-tang (陳明堂) yesterday said the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28 was riddled with 45 inward bullet holes, 24 of which were concentrated on a cabin where the boat’s four crew had been hiding.
The Ministry of Justice also publicized evidence it said indicated that the death of 65-year-old Hung was intentional.
Among the evidence presented by the ministry was a bullet with Hung’s blood on it that was recovered from the boat, two pictures showing fatal bullet wounds on Hung’s neck, pictures of the bullet marks on the cabin and the boat’s Voyage Data Recorder.
The recorder’s data shows the precise location of the boat when the incident took place, which was within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone, Chen said.
“It is a cross-border crime, with evidence such as the suspects, the Philippine Coast Guard and guns in the Philippines, while the victims and the boat are in Taiwan,” he said. “It would be impossible to resolve the case if the two countries did not work together and combine all their evidence.”
Meanwhile, in Manila, Perez said the Philippines is waiting for tempers in Taiwan to cool before settling the dispute.
Issues like Manila’s “one China” policy and comments by Taiwanese investigators branding the incident as “murder” have complicated the situation, Perez said in an interview with DZMM radio.
Additional reporitng by Rich Chang and AFP
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
RSS