An investigation into the death of a Taiwanese skipper by the US is expected to end by the middle of next month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday amid increasing complaints about delays in disclosing the results.
“A review of the incident by the US should be completed in the middle of next month at the earliest,” MOFA Minister Timothy Yang (楊進添) said, in reference to the death of Taiwanese captain Wu Lai-yu (吳來于), who was killed in crossfire between Somali pirates and the US Navy on May 10.
Yang made the remarks when approached by reporters yesterday morning as more than 70 demonstrators protested outside the ministry, calling for it to act on behalf of Wu’s family and demand compensation for his death from the US government.
Photo: Reuters
“I don’t imagine that it would take longer than that to complete such a report,” Yang said.
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), however, did not confirm the date.
“Once the factual review is completed and we receive a copy of the report, we will inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” AIT spokesperson Christopher Kavanagh said.
The ministry learned at a meeting with AIT officials on June 4 that the US would probably be able to provide the ministry with an account of the incident in the middle of next month, said Bruce Linghu (令狐榮達), director-general of the Department of North American Affairs.
“We have been urging the US to expedite the report, while the AIT is also pushing hard for that. No less than five meetings [between the ministry and the AIT] have been held on the case,” Linghu said.
The latest meeting was held on Tuesday, at which time Yang said he had expressed his impatience to AIT Director Stanton William over the pace of the US report.
Gathering outside the ministry, the protesters demanded the ministry condemn the US Navy for what they called the “brutality” that killed Wu, defend the country’s sovereignty in the disputed waters surrounding the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) and in the South China Sea, and safeguard the rights of Taiwanese fishermen in those waters.
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