Greenpeace Taiwan yesterday erected a sculpture of a hand holding a yellow card in front of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) headquarters in Taipei, urging the two parties to address fisheries policy after Taiwan was given a yellow card warning over illegal fishing activities in September.
The European Commission in October identified Taiwan as an uncooperative nation in the fight against illegal fishing after a Taiwanese ship was found to have broken a shark-fin harvest law in waters near Papua New Guinea.
Taiwan’s aquatic products could be banned in EU markets if the nation is not able to resolve the issue in six months.
Photo: Chen Wei-han, Taipei Times
Greenpeace Taiwan said that policies tabled by the two parties did not address illegal fishing, distant fishing management or remedy measures in response to the yellow card warning, with the KMT’s platform leaning toward tourism and the DPP’s toward offshore energy and marine current power development.
The organization called on the parties to revise the Fisheries Act (漁業法) to clamp down on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, establish a traceability system for aquatic products and ensure information transparency.
The organization’s ocean campaigner Lisa Tsai (蔡佩芸) said: “We have not seen any specific policy design on fisheries resources management on a national scale despite the two parties’ and the Fisheries Agency’s repeated pledges to do so. That is why we are here today, to urge them to honor their pledge.”
DPP official Yang Chang-chen (楊長鎮) said that the party supports the reformation of the fishing industry and would move to synchronizing national regulations with international standards, as well as enacting soft laws.
KMT official Huang Po-chung (黃柏均) said that the KMT accepts the group’s demands and the party also proposed to set up an environmentally friendly fishing fleet at each of the nation’s fishing villages to protect fishery resources and human rights.
Fisheries Agency Deputy Director Huang Hung-yan (黃鴻燕) said the agency is revising the act in accordance with the EU standards by substantially raising the fine limit for illegal fishing, and it would submit the draft amendment to the Legislative Yuan for review in the next legislative session in February.
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
The presence of Taiwanese politicians at China’s military parade tomorrow would send the wrong message to Beijing and the international community about Taiwan’s sovereignty and democracy, a national security official said yesterday. China is to hold the parade tomorrow to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. By bringing together leaders of “anti-West” governments such as Russia, North Korea, Iran and Belarus, the parade aims to project a symbolic image of an alliance that is cohesive and unbending against Western countries, the national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
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