Although there is no regular direct transportation link between Penghu and China, Taiwanese officials said yesterday that they would not rule out sending the bodies of the Chinese victims killed in the China Airlines crash to their homeland via the sea route.
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) made the remarks yesterday morning after attending a ceremony to honor prominent civil organizations which have contributed to cross-strait exchanges over the past two years.
While answering questions over how to deal with the bodies of the Chinese victims, Tsai said that the government will offer the greatest convenience to assist victims' relatives, including the possibility of sending the victims' bodies home directly from the Penghu Islands to China.
But she added that her understanding is that most Chinese family members preferred to cremate the bodies in Taiwan and then carry the ashes of the dead home.
The director of the MAC's Department of Research and Planning, Jan Jyh-horng (詹志宏), explained that under current Chinese regulations, the bodies cannot enter Chinese territory, "so the bodies will be cremated in Taiwan."
Tsai stressed that the original intent of direct transportation links between Penghu and China was to allow religious exchanges. But she added that if the relatives of Chinese victims expressed their desire to ship the bodies via the route, "the decision will be made on a case-by-case basis."
So far none of the Chinese victims' relatives have raised the issue, Tsai said.
In addition, the Straits Exchange Foundation released a newsletter yesterday saying that all the relatives of the Chinese victims have arrived in Taiwan.
The relatives are allowed to stay in Taiwan for only 12 days. However the government may extend the time the relatives are allowed to stay if they need more time, according to the MAC's Jan.
Meanwhile, officials with the foundation said in a news release that after the Boeing 747-200 crashed, they notified the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, its counterpart in China, of the names of the Chinese victims.
Taiwan and Chinese authorities have cooperated in the search for bodies and debris from the downed plane, ignoring boundary concerns for the time being.
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