Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) officials yesterday said they are actively trying to secure the release of two seamen detained by China since July 31, despite the continued disruption of cross-strait talks.
The Taiwanese cargo freighter Shin Hwa (
The ship and eight crew members were released last week, one month after China announced that no indictment would be brought in the case.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Ship captain Kuo Tai-sheng (
Accompanied by a group of politicians led by KMT legislator Chao Erh-chung (
He asked for assistance in the release of Kuo and Chen, while thanking the council for its efforts that led to the release of the other eight crew members.
MAC Vice Chairman Wu An-chia (
"We call on China to resolve problems pragmatically and sincerely," Wu said. "The ship was detained for four months for no reason. It is ridiculous."
He said the reason Chinese authorities had not brought any charges against the crew members was because there was insufficient evidence of smuggling.
Though no official explanation for the detentions has been given, some commentators have linked the affair to Taiwan unilaterally defining cross-strait ties as that of "special relations between two states."
Others have said it may be a retaliatory move for Taiwan's crackdown on Chinese fishermen trespassing in Taiwanese waters.
The SEF has asked its Beijing counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), to help, but it has not responded.
Most of the negotiations with China over the case have been conducted by a Taiwanese business association in Fuzhou and some Matsu-elected politicians, including Chao.
"We hope the channels of communication will become smooth again in the future. None of the six letters sent by SEF to the ARATS were answered. This is very unreasonable," Chao said.
Chao said the Shin Hwa's detention should not be likened to Taiwan's crackdown on trespassing fishing boats, because they are two different matters.
"Shin Hwa was taken from Taiwan's waters," Chao pointed out.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary