The fifth Taiwan-Japan meeting on fishing rights north of the Yaeyama Islands concluded yesterday with Taiwan retaining its right to fish in the inverted triangle zone north of the islands.
Fisheries Agency Director-General Tsay Tzu-yaw (蔡日耀) said the agency would convene a second meeting prior to the convention of the Taiwan-Japan Fishery Committee next year to discuss the details of fishing methods and the retrieval of fishermen’s equipment.
The meeting has drawn attention due to the demands made by Okinawa Island fishermen, asking the Japanese government to amend the Taiwan-Japan Fisheries Accord (台日漁業協議) signed in 2013 to narrow the area in which Taiwanese fishermen are allowed to fish, mainly depriving them of access north of the islands.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Suao Fishermen’s Association chairman Chen Chun-sheng (陳春生) said that if the Japanese made unreasonable demands, it would undermine the mutual trust between the two sides.
Both sides agreed to abide by the Regulation on Fishing Processes (漁業作業規則) reached last year, Tsay said, but added that Taiwan would hold two separate meetings prior to next year’s committee meeting.
Tsay said that the meetings would focus on how fishermen operate in the area — which is north of the Japanese islands about 200km off the Yilan County coast.
The government and fishing associations will be present at the meetings, which are expected to take take place before April next year, right before the fishing season starts, Tsay said.
The meeting would only focus on the methods of operation and not the parameters or area in which they are to be conducted, Tsay said.
Tsay said in response to media queries that the two meetings to be held next year had no connection to the Japanese fishermen’s demands to shrink the fishing area open to Taiwanese, adding that the issue was not included in this committee meeting.
Tsay announced the results of the three-day meeting yesterday, accompanied by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Director-General of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Chou Shyue-yow (周學佑).
Chen said that the results of the meeting were unsatisfactory, but were acceptable, adding that fishermen from both nations have long-standing emotional ties to the fishing area and would need time to come to a mutual understanding.
Chen said that he found the Japanese fishermen’s demands unsatisfactory.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique