The military yesterday refused to speculate on whether an army soldier who went missing from a ship operating between Taiwan proper to the frontline Matsu islands on Saturday might have jumped overboard of his own free will.
The soldier, identified as 21-year-old Liu Chin-hung (
Liu, wearing a life jacket when found, is now at a hospital in Pingtan, Fujian Province, receiving medical care for facial burns and body swelling he sustained during three days' adrift at sea, the army said.
Liu was found missing early on Saturday from the Ho Fu Express, which the military rents to provide for the regular transportation of soldiers serving on the Matsu islands, as the ship arrived at Tungyin.
Sea and air search efforts were launched several hours later by the army, but no trace of Liu could be found until Monday evening, when Chinese authorities reported that a Taiwanese man with a life jacket, later confirmed to be Liu, was picked up by a Chinese fishing vessel.
Liu's mysterious disappearance from the ship aroused speculation that it might not have been an accident.
The fact that Liu was wearing a life jacket appeared to back the speculation, since he would not likely have been able to put on a life jacket if he had accidentally fallen overboard.
Army spokesman Major General Hsiao Ju-po (
"We don't know the circumstances which led to Liu going overboard. We will investigate when he comes back," Hsiao said.
As to the arrangement under which the army thinks Liu is to be returned by China, Hsiao said it would be best treated as an ordinary sea accident by the two sides.
Hsiao made the statements yesterday at a regular press conference of the Ministry of National Defense (MND).
PFP lawmaker Tsao Yuan-chang (
Tsao went to Pingtan by ship yesterday morning, arriving in the afternoon at the hospital where Liu is recovering.
Tsao, speaking by phone, told the Taipei Times that Liu might have to stay in the hospital three to five more days to recover.
Tsao declined to reveal whether Liu had told him what had happened. He denied reports quoting him as saying that Liu wanted to swim to China in search of a "career in Buddhism."
If Liu is proven to have jumped overboard intentionally, he could be charged with desertion by the military.
Liu, a resident of Taipei County's Hsinchuang township, serves at an artillery unit on Nankang island, part of the Matsu island group.
Major General Hsiao said Liu had not handled confidential material and that the weapons in use at his unit are not of a sensitive nature.
An official with the MND, who declined to be identified, said that it is indeed possible that Liu might have jumped into the sea intentionally.
"If not, why should he put on a life jacket and change out of his military uniform into ordinary clothes? These facts are quite suspicious," the official said.
"But the MND is inclined to play down the affair, since the soldier might have [jumped overboard] due to a nervous breakdown."
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