Government officials yesterday blamed Taiwan's ban on Chinese fisherman coming ashore on Bei-jing's refusal to negotiate a reliable means of identifying the fishermen.
"Chinese fishermen often hold a number of different identification cards, which makes identifying them very difficult. For the sake of security, we have no choice but to ban them from coming ashore," said Sha Chih-yi (沙志一), vice chairman of the Fisheries Administration of the Council of Agriculture.
"We have tried to discuss the matter with the Chinese government, but Beijing obviously has its own considerations in regard to this matter," he added
China has refused to negotiate with Taiwan since former President Lee Teng-hui said in 1999 that relations between the two sides are "state-to-state" in nature.
Following Tuesday's fire on one of the converted fishing vessels -- used as a floating dormitory for Chinese fisherman -- opposition legislators yesterday charged that the DPP administration's rule barring the fishermen from coming ashore violated their human rights and resulted in yesterday's blaze and near-disaster.
"The DPP administration claims that it holds human rights as paramount, but its ban on Chinese fishermen coming ashore flies in the face of these claims. What's more, the policy regularly results in tragedy," said PFP lawmaker Cheng Mei-lan (鄭美蘭).
The fishing boat caught fire and lost power while heading toward Kaohsiung to take shelter from Typhoon Nakri.
The restriction on Chinese fishermen coming ashore was part of a set of rules introduced by the Council of Agriculture in 1998.
The regulation in question states that the floating hotels which house the fishermen may enter port when the Central Weather Bureau issues a sea typhoon warning, and that the fishermen may come ashore if winds exceed a force of seven. A wind force of seven is categorized as near gail-force, between 50kph and 61kph.
Critics have said that Taiwan treats Chinese fishermen much worse than fishermen from Southeast Asia, as fishermen from Southeast Asia are permitted to come ashore freely.
The government agreed on a plan to permit them to come ashore in 2000, which includes establishing four dormitories in Keelung, Taichung, Suao, and Hsinchu, and revising the current regulation to allow them to come ashore under the supervision of immigration officials.
The construction of the four dormitories will be completed at the end of the year.
Reacting to criticism over Wed-nesday's fire incident, Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday ordered related departments to expedite the dormitory plan during the Cabinet's weekly meeting yesterday.
Taiwan began recruiting Chinese fishermen in the 1980s. There are estimated to be some 25,000 to 30,000 Chinese fishermen working for Taiwanese fishing companies. The government avoided regulating their employment until 1998.
Beijing has accused Taiwan of treating Chinese fishermen inappropriately and has enforced a ban on Chinese fishermen seeking work in Taiwan since February.
But one high-ranking government official, who declined to be identified, said that after a brief decline after the ban was introduced, the numbers seeking employment in the trade began to rise again.
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