The Taiwanese cargo ship Shin Hwa (新華輪) and most of her crew were released yesterday after being detained in China for four months on smuggling charges.
However, while Chinese prosecutors are not pressing charges because of a lack of evidence, ship captain Kuo Tai-sheng (
The ship made port on the island of Matsu around noon yesterday in the company of National Assembly deputy Tsao Yuan-chang (
The ship was detained by the Chinese coast guard in waters off Matsu on July 31 and taken to Fuzhou in Fujian province for an investigation.
The quasi-official Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), which handles cross-strait affairs in the absence of official ties, requested its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), to help with the speedy release of the crew members, but the association did not respond.
ARATS has held back a planned Taiwan visit by its chairman and has frozen contacts with SEF since Taiwan defined cross-strait ties as "special relations between two states."
Hsu Chun-ta (
In mid-October, China said that no indictment would be brought against the crew members, but that they would suffer some "administrative penalties." On Monday, China notified the politicians that eight crew members would be released.
Jan Jyh-horng (
"China has so far not given us any reason for their detention," Jan said.
Tsao said he had been told by Fuzhou customs officials that the two people cannot be released for the time being because there are still some "details" to investigate.
Officials in China did not say what the "details" were or for how long they will be detained, Tsao said.
"I think the entire matter is of less legal concern than of politics," Tsao said.
Legislator Chao, who also went to receive the released crewmen in Matsu yesterday, said it is "very ridiculous" and unreasonable for China to delay the release of the other two now that legal procedures are complete.
"Now that the ship and crew have been sent back, what is left to investigate?" Chao asked.
By crossing the middle line of the Taiwan Strait and violating Taiwan's territorial waters to apprehend the ship in the first place, Chao said China had violated a tacit cross-strait agreement to stay clear of each other's territorial waters.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘NOT SUBORDINATE’: Only Taiwanese can decide the nation’s future, and people preserving their democratic way of life is not a provocation, President William Lai said Taiwan does not want China’s “one country, two systems,” and must uphold its freedom and democracy as well as resolve to defend itself, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, rejecting Beijing’s latest bid to bring the country under Chinese control. The president made the remarks while attending a commissioning ceremony for Taiwan’s first battalion of M1A2T Abrams tanks in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口). The tanks are made by General Dynamics, a major US defense contractor. China this week said it “absolutely will not” rule out using force over Taiwan, striking a much tougher tone than a series of articles in state media
RSS