Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) yesterday proposed that Taipei should work to sign a fishery agreement with Beijing to address the problem of rampant poaching by Chinese fishermen in Taiwanese waters.
Jiang directed the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Council of Agriculture to conduct a feasibility study on such an agreement, which he said would help maintain good maritime order and stabilize the fishing industries on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Before such a pact is signed, the MAC should try to draw Beijing’s attention to the problem to avoid conflict, he added.
Jiang made the remarks during a weekly Cabinet meeting after hearing a report by the Coast Guard Administration on the issue.
According to Coast Guard Administration Minister Wang Ginn-wang (王進旺), a large number of Chinese fishing boats have been caught poaching off Kinmen County since earlier this month.
With the help of the MAC, the situation was reported to the Chinese side via the semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation on Oct. 9, Wang said.
Since Wednesday, about 20 Chinese fishing boats have been captured in waters near Kinmen in a joint crackdown operation between the CGA and the China Marine Surveillance service, he said.
In the past, the trespassing Chinese fishermen would use various means, including attacking Taiwanese officers with wooden clubs, to block them from boarding their boats for inspection, Wang said.
However, such incidents have decreased recently due to increased law enforcement presence, he said.
According to the administration, Chinese fishing boats are most often seen trespassing in Taiwan’s northern waters and in the waters around Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.
During the first nine months of the year, the administration expelled 1,183 Chinese fishing boats and detained 542, with fines totaling NT$39.09 million (US$1.28 million) issued to 225 of them.
From Oct. 3 until Monday this week, 453 Chinese boats were expelled and 15 others detained. In addition, nine Chinese boats were expelled for allegedly extracting sand during the time period, the administration said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS