The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is continuing to press Indonesia for help in finding the missing crew of the fishing boat High Aim 6 that was recently found abandoned in Australian waters.
Captain Chen Tai-cheng (陳泰成) and chief engineer Lin Chung-li (林中立) are feared to have been thrown overboard or killed by the their Indonesian crew, ministry officials said.
The ministry has also asked the Indonesian government to help track down nine crewmembers.
According to a Jan. 19 report from the Indonesian police headquarters, police in Bitung, North Sulawesi Province, nabbed a suspect who admitted that he was one of the 10 Indonesians that the High Aim 6 recruited in early November to fish in waters near the Marshall Islands.
Police say the man told them his nine colleagues had fled and probably returned to their homes in central Java, while Chen and Lin had been killed.
Police in several Indonesian provinces have been informed about the nine suspects and the fact that Lin's cellphone had been repeatedly used between Jan. 1 to Jan. 10, ministry officials said.
According to Lin's wife, a bill for more than NT$40,000 from Chunghua Telecom shows that Lin's cellphone had been repeatedly used during that time. All 87 calls that were made from Lin's phone were made in Bali.
Lin's family has said they last heard from him on Dec. 5.
High Aim 6 departed Tungkang on Oct. 31 for Indonesia. The boat was found drifting in waters near Broome, Australia on Jan. 3, with no one aboard. Australian authorities had it towed into Broome on Jan. 10 for examination.
Chen and Lin's families fear the men were either abducted or thrown overboard -- either by pirates or by their crewmen.
According officials from the Hsiaoliuchio Fishermen's Association, the High Aim 6 arrived in Bitung on Nov. 7 and was preparing to head for the Marshall Islands to fish.
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
One of two tropical depressions that formed offshore this morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. It is expected to move in a northwesterly direction as it continues building momentum, possibly intensifying into Typhoon Mitag this weekend, she added. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is expected to approach southeast of Taiwan on Monday and pass through the Bashi Channel between Tuesday and Wednesday,
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's