A Taiwanese fishing boat was detained by Japanese authorities on Monday for fishing in its Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ) but will soon be released after it agreed to pay a fine, an official said.
The owner of the fishing boat agreed to pay a ¥4 million (US$46,900) fine for fishing in Japan’s EEZ, Chen Tyau-her (陳調和), secretary-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ East Asian Relations Commission said yesterday.
The Shun Fu Yu No. 68 was seized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan in waters deemed by Japanese authorities to be beyond the temporary enforcement line of Taiwan’s EEZ, Chen said.
Chen said Japanese authorities agreed to release the boat after the Suao Agriculture Association had guaranteed that the fishing company would pay the fine without taking the case to court.
The ministry negotiated with the Japanese Coast Guard to reach an agreement, slashing the time needed to settle the case and allow the fishermen to return home, Chen said.
Saying that there have been other incidents of Taiwanese vessels fishing illegally in the disputed waters surrounding the Diaoyutai (釣魚台) Archipelago, Chen said the ministry would work with the Fishery Agency to dissuade fishermen from fishing beyond the temporary enforcement line.
The Taiwanese government established the temporary enforcement line to provide a safe fishing area for Taiwanese fishermen, while Japan also delimited the “middle line” in the overlapping maritime area of the Diaoyutais.
The delimitation by Japan and Taiwan has yet to be accepted by either side.
Taiwan has held 16 rounds of negotiations with Japan on the matter, but the talks ground to a halt when it came to the Diaoyutais issue, Chen said.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all