Activists and government officials yesterday vowed to protect the right of Taiwanese fishing boats to operate around the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) and to defend the country’s sovereignty over the region.
A small group from the World Chinese Alliance in Defense of the Diaoyu Islands (世界華人保釣聯盟), an organization composed of activists from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and China, joined hands in their latest move to assert Chinese ownership over the area, which is also known as Senkaku Islands in Japan.
Chinese Association for Protecting the Diaoyutais chairman Hsieh Mang-lin (謝夢麟) said yesterday that a group of six Taiwanese would rendezvous with 14 other activists led by Chan Miu Tak (陳妙德), chairman of the Hong Kong-based Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands, at sea near Pengjia Islet (彭佳嶼) off Taiwan’s northernmost tip today before heading toward the Diaoyutai Islands.
Photo: CNA
“This time we will be fully prepared and plan to land on the Diaoyutai Islands to hoist the flag of the Republic of China to maintain our sovereignty and fishing rights,” he said.
According to the Web site of the Chinese Association for Protecting the Diayutais, the Bao Diao II vessel, with 14 people on board — including Chan, activists from China and Macau, four crew members, and two journalists from Phoenix Hong Kong Channel — departed at 12:45pm on Sunday.
The Taiwanese group is scheduled to set sail from Yilan this evening in two fishing boats.
Hsieh said that move was triggered by the upcoming visit to the islands by 50 Japanese lawmakers on Sunday.
“We will act in concert with the group led by Chan to proclaim that Diaoyutai Islands belong to Chinese people,” Chan was quoted by the Japan Times as saying. “Japanese lawmakers are planning to land on the islands on Aug. 19. We want to get there before they do.”
“The Diaoyu Islands are Chinese territory. We will fight for the sovereignty of the Chinese nation,” Chan said.
Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Wang Chung-yi (王崇儀) said the agency would send coast guard vessels to escort and protect Taiwanese activists in accordance with previous practice.
“As long as the activists meet regulations that forbid the carriage of items of dangerous goods onto a ship and the weather permits, we have no reason to stop fishing boats from setting sail to Diaoyutai Islands,” Wang said.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Steve Hsia (夏季昌) reiterated that Taiwan has sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands, which are traditional fishing grounds for Taiwanese fishermen and part of its territory.
Hsia called on all parties to remain rational and practice restraint to avoid escalating tensions.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS