Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday called a Kaohsiung official’s attendance at a ceremony on Tuesday to launch a maritime route between the city and China’s Wenzhou a “farce,” while Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) asked the central government to help investigate the case.
Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau Director Pan Heng-hsu (潘恒旭) was photographed at a ceremony held by Shang Ho Marine Transport (上和海運) to celebrate the purported maiden voyage on a route between Kaohsiung’s Cijin District (旗津) and Wenzhou’s Dongtou.
A banner at the event suggested that the route was part of the “small three links.”
Photo: Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei Times
However, the company disbanded on June 12 and no application had been filed with the Maritime and Port Bureau to establish the route or to use the two ships that allegedly made the maiden voyage.
The Executive Yuan believes that the incident contravened the government’s authority, Su said at a Cabinet meeting in Taipei, adding that it has caused a misunderstanding and might have left a poor public impression.
The Kaohsiung City Government should investigate the incident, he said.
Photo: Huang Chien-hua, Taipei Times
Yeh attended yesterday’s meeting on behalf of the Kaohsiung City Government, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said.
Su told Yeh that he should have understood the relevant legal process, as he previously served as minister of transportation and communications, she said.
Yeh said that if the alleged route was fake, the Ministry of the Interior should help with the investigation, Kolas said.
The ministry has asked the Kaohsiung City Government to conduct a thorough investigation into how a disbanded company took part in the ceremony and where the idea came from, as the possibility of fraud cannot be ruled out, she added.
The ministry has found that the China Dream Promotion Association, which organized the event, in 2014 applied for commercial registration and was granted approval in 2015, Kolas said.
During that period, it did not provide a financial statement or host similar events, she said, adding that Tuesday’s event is the only one it has hosted recently.
The ministry said that it had already sent a letter to the association requesting an explanation of its organization and operations, as well as its financial statements, she said.
Asked whether it was a means of making money, Kolas said that she does not yet know.
Fraud was “one possibility,” Kolas said, adding that the Cabinet is not making any presumptions.
Meanwhile, Taiwan International Ports Corp (TIPC, 台灣港務) said that Shang Ho would not be allowed to operate a “small three links” shipping businesses without first receiving approval from the Maritime Port Bureau.
The ceremony took place at a property administered by the Kaohsiung City Government, not on TIPC property, it said.
Even though Shang Ho had ended its operations and does not own any ships, it had planned to lease two cargo ships — Yenhong (延鴻) and Yongshun No. 2 (永順二號) — to offer shipping services between Kaohsiung and Wenzhou, the TIPC said.
Both are still docked at the Port of Kaohsiung, it added.
Bureau South Maritime Affairs Center Director Yu Chien-hsun (余建勳) said that the “small three links” only include shipping services to China’s Fujian Province from Kinmen or Lienchiang County.
Additional reporting by Ann Maxon
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from