A Taiwanese woman demanded compensation yesterday from US troops whose actions, she believes, led to the death of her husband.
Her husband was the skipper of a Taiwanese long-line fishing vessel hijacked by Somali pirates on March 30 last year.
Wu Lai-yu (吳來于), captain of the Jih Chun Tsai No. 68, died on May 20 during an exchange of fire between the long liner, which was used by the pirates as a mother ship, and the USS Stephen W. Groves in the Indian Ocean.
Photo: Yeh Yung-chien, Taipei Times
The death surprised Wu’s family, who had reached a ransom deal late last month with the pirates following a painstaking negotiation that lasted more than a year.
The pirates agreed to release Wu and the 79 tonne vessel in one month upon receiving the ransom. The amount of the ransom is not clear, but it was less than the US$8 million the pirates originally demanded.
Wu’s wife said yesterday through Tsai Pao-hsing (蔡寶興), secretary-general of the Liouciou Fishery Association, that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should help her seek compensation from the US.
She said that the US troops saved two Chinese crewmembers, but allowed Wu’s body to sink along with the fishing vessel rather than retrieve it for the family.
A day earlier, the ministry said it had asked the Taipei office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) to provide a complete investigation report on the incident.
The AIT has sent staff to convey condolences to the family, the ministry said.
More than 100 Taiwanese fishing vessels operate in the Indian Ocean, but they are not escorted by military ships, unlike their Chinese and South Korean counterparts, Tsai said.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS