A group of activists led by former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Chang Chun-hong (張俊宏) said they will sue Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over the issue of the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in the Yilan District Court today.
“The lawsuit came as our determination to protect the human rights, sovereignty and fishing rights of Taiwanese because the islands have always been part of Republic of China [ROC] territory,” Chang, who represented the Taiwan Gene Foundation, told a press conference.
The group, which also includes the Legal Reform Promotion Association of the ROC, lawyers and fishermen’s representatives, is set to file a lawsuit for conversion and tort against Abe, seeking NT$2 million (US$67,000) in compensation.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Chang described the recent signing of a Taiwan-Japan fisheries pact, which drew an intervention-free fishing zone for Taiwanese fishermen in the waters near the disputed islands — known in Japanese as the Senkaku Islands — but recognized Japan’s 12 nautical mile (22.2km) territorial water boundary as unreasonable, saying that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration was malfeasant in its failure to protect the ROC’s territory.
Ma committed a serious mistake by shelving the sovereignty issue in the negotiations as it also gave China space to intervene, Chang said.
Cheng Mei-lan (鄭美蘭), former president of the National Fishermen’s Association, and fisherman Tseng Tai-shan (曾太山) said the government must explain why it made concessions to Japan and why Japan was able to nationalize the islands if the Diaoyutais have always been part of the ROC’s territory.
“For decades we have been having a hard time figuring out why our fishermen would either be chased away, detained or fined by Japan if the Diaoyutais were our territory as the government claimed. With the lawsuit, we want an answer once and for all. If it is not our territory, we will not fish in that area in the future,” Cheng said.
However, the group said it would not point the finger at the government for now because “it is time for consolidation and to show support for the government’s claim of sovereignty over the islands.”
Lawyer Chen Chen-wei (陳振瑋) said after reviewing the facts, the group was convinced that the Yilan District Court has jurisdiction for the lawsuit because the islands are part of Yilan County’s Toucheng Township (頭城) and they “could not come up with any scenario in which the court would reject the lawsuit.”
“We are confident that we will win the case,” Chen said.
Former DPP chairman Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良) said he supported the lawsuit because historical documents and facts about the island dispute would be examined during the legal proceedings, which is helpful in resolving controversies.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
RSS