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.
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
Aftershocks from a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 3:45pm yesterday could reach a magnitude of 5 to 5.5, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Seismological Center technical officer Chiu Chun-ta (邱俊達) told a news conference that the epicenter of the temblor was more than 100km from Taiwan. Although predicted to measure between magnitude 5 and 5.5, the aftershocks would reach an intensity of 1 on Taiwan’s 7-tier scale, which gauges the actual effect of an earthquake, he said. The earthquake lasted longer in Taipei because the city is in a basin, he said. The quake’s epicenter was about 128.9km east-southeast
STAY VIGILANT: People should reduce the risk of chronic liver inflammation by avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and eating pickled foods, the physician said A doctor last week urged people to look for five key warning signs of acute liver failure after popular producer-turned-entertainer Shen Yu-lin (沈玉琳) was reportedly admitted to an intensive care unit for fulminant hepatitis. Fulminant hepatitis is the rapid and massive death of liver cells, impairing the organ’s detoxification, metabolic, protein synthesis and bile production functions, which if left untreated has a mortality rate as high as 80 percent, according to the Web site of Advancing Clinical Treatment of Liver Disease, an international organization focused on liver disease prevention and treatment. People with hepatitis B or C are at higher risk of
RSS