Piracy rates are falling, but more attention must still be given to seamen who have been held hostage or attacked by pirates, a US expert said in Taipei.
Douglas Stevenson, chairman of the London-based International Christian Maritime Association (ICMA), said “piracy rates are down” as a result of improved ship management, an increased military presence and the hiring of private security guards, among other factors.
However, several issues related to the problem of piracy still need to be addressed, Stevenson said. Among them is providing the necessary therapy to crews who often suffer mental and physical mistreatment when their ships are hijacked by pirates.
It is important to “make sure they can get the appropriate therapy,” Stevenson said.
The ICMA is devoted to promoting the spiritual, social and material welfare of seafarers and tries to ease their hardships and distress.
Studies have shown that only about 30 percent of sailors who have been the victims of hijackings at sea think they received appropriate care after their release, he said.
Stevenson also touched on Somalian pirates, the focus of the piracy issue in recent years, describing them as people who see themselves as being “in the business of collecting ransoms.”
“They don’t really have an interest in killing anybody. If they kill anybody, they don’t get the ransom,” he said, citing many reports of crewmembers suffering beatings or other mistreatment after being held hostage by pirates.
Asked about the key to negotiating with pirates, Stevenson, a maritime lawyer and former US Coast Guard officer, said having “one designated negotiator” is key so as to avoid complicating the situation.
Taiwan, who has fishing boats in the Indian Ocean, has not been spared attacks by Somalian pirates and Stevenson urged Taiwan to establish more centers at its ports dedicated to improving the welfare of local and visiting commercial boat crews from other countries. Citing the PCT Seamen’s/Fishermen’s Service Center in Kaohsiung as the only such center in Taiwan, he called on the nation to step up efforts to build more of these facilities.
Stevenson, who was on a seven-day visit to Taiwan, visited facilities for fishermen in Kaohsiung during his trip. He also met with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Council of Agriculture’s Fisheries Agency to discuss the issues of piracy and seafarers’ welfare.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
RSS