A Philippine official, who is close to the probe related to the May 9 shooting at a Taiwanese fishing boat by Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel, confirmed on Saturday for the first time that the incident took place in the overlapping economic zones between the two countries, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported yesterday.
The daily, which is one of the top three newspapers in the country, said the anonymous source had confirmed Taiwan’s claims that the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28 was attacked in the countries’ overlapping territorial waters, although it was “on the Philippine side and not on the Taiwanese side.”
Manila is insisting that the fishing vessel was attacked after it intruded into the Philippines’ territorial waters.
The paper quoted another source — who has seen a video of the incident in which Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-cheng (洪石成) was killed — telling the newspaper on Saturday that PCG personnel were laughing as they fired at the boat.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted an anonymous source as saying: “The video showed the soldiers acting unprofessionally.”
“It is disturbing and embarrassing for Philippine law enforcers,” the source added.
His statements were confirmed by two other sources who have also seen the video.
According to the PCG report on the incident, Arnold de la Cruz, the commander of the patrol vessel, “ordered his men to fire at the fishing vessel when it did not stop after several warnings.”
Investigators on both sides concluded their probes into the incident on Friday and the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila said its report will be ready in a “day or two,” according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS