The government is studying the possibility of sending warships to protect Taiwanese fishing boats in the waters off Somalia, a high-ranking official at the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
MAC Deputy Minister Chao Chien-min (趙建民) said that national security agencies were assessing the feasibility, but he was not certain when the assessment would be complete.
Chao made the remarks in response to media inquiries on Beijing’s call that Taiwanese fishing boats apply for protection by Chinese warships.
PHOTO: CNA
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang (秦剛) said on Tuesday that Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau are part of China and that people in all three places are Chinese. The Chinese government attaches great importance to the safety of overseas Chinese and there is no exception in the waters around Somalia, he said.
Chao yesterday said that many Taiwanese ships operate around the piracy-plagued Gulf of Aden. Many countries have sent their warships to ensure the safety of shipping in the area and, as far as he knew, 45 warships have been dispatch to the area, including three by the Chinese, Chao said.
As Taiwan and the US have long been cooperating on anti-terrorism projects, Chao said the administration had been in close contact with Washington as well as with the EU to ask for their assistance to help protect Taiwanese fishing boats in the area.
“Our main concern is safety of the boats and the people on board,” Chao said. “Based on humanitarian reasons, we would not reject any assistance immediately available to them.”
While Taiwanese fishing boats can file for protection from China through the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), Chao said the administration had not yet authorized the SEF to take up such a task.
When asked whether potential applicants would violate any law by filing for protection directly with the Chinese government, Chao said it would “run against due procedure” as they must do so via the SEF and that he believed such a scenario would not happen.
About 100 ships, including several Chinese vessels, have been attacked by Somali pirates since the beginning of last year.
China warned Somali pirates last month it was prepared to use force to combat rampant piracy that has disrupted international shipping routes heading to and from the Suez Canal. A fleet of Chinese warships arrived in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, in other news, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday vowed to pursue cross-strait relations under the framework of the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution, saying that he would not discuss unification nor support independence or approve the use of the military.
Ma said such an approach complies with public opinion. As both sides of the Taiwan Strait are willing to improve bilateral relations, Ma said it would be mutually beneficial for both sides to maintain peace and pursue prosperity.
Ma made the remarks while receiving members of the US-based Hip Sing Association at the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon.
The 1994 Handbook of Organized Crime in the United States by Robert J. Kelly, Chin Ko-lin and Rufus Schatzberg says the Hip Sing was established as a benevolent association, as “a protective society for laborers and seamen” they also “functioned as operators of opium, prostitution and gambling dens.”
“Current [1994] concern at the federal level indicates a preoccupation with the tongs’ role in heroin smuggling,” the handbook says.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
RSS