Four fishing boats that sailed to Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) in the South China Sea to assert the nation’s sovereignty over the island and its surrounding waters returned to a noisy welcome in Pingtung County yesterday.
The boats arrived at Yanpu Fishing Port (鹽埔漁港) in Hsinyuan Township (新園) at 10am, and were greeted with applause, firecrackers and shouts of “true heroes.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) was among more than 600 people in the crowd.
Photo: CNA
More than 1,200 empty plastic bottles were offered to the crowd so that they could take home water the fishing boats shipped back from Itu Aba.
The flotilla sailed for Itu Aba on July 20 in response to a July 12 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands.
In a case the Philippines brought against China, the court ruled that all high-tide features in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), including Itu Aba, are legally “rocks” rather than islands and therefore not entitled to 200 nautical mile (370.4km) exclusive economic zones.
Photo: Yeh Yung-chien, Taipei Times
Although Taiwan was not a party to the case and has said it would not be bound by the ruling, other nations in the region could use it to limit where Taiwanese fishermen can operate, which the fishermen said would hurt their livelihoods.
Three out of the four ships docked at Itu Aba on Monday last week. One ship was not able to dock at the island because it was carrying three reporters from Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, which was not allowed as permits are required for anyone visiting Itu Aba, as it is categorized as a military-controlled zone.
The ship instead anchored in waters off the island.
Another boat had mechanical problems and did not finish the journey.
The Fisheries Agency yesterday said in a statement that while it respects the fishermen’s motive for sailing to the island, it might still fine them for alleged violations of the Fisheries Act (漁業法) and other laws, to uphold integrity of the law and safeguard the nation’s fishing operations.
People First Party caucus convener Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said the government should not use the law to intimidate fishermen who sail to Itu Aba in support of the nation’s sovereignty.
Separately yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said it has rejected Hung’s application to travel to Itu Aba, as Hung is not a public servant and has not been invited to participate in national security-related affairs.
BLUE WAVE: The KMT’s Chiang Wan-an defeated the DPP’s Chen Shih-chung and is to become Taipei mayor, while President Tsai Ing-wen stepped down as DPP chairperson after many of the party’s candidates, handpicked by the leadership, performed poorly The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday flipped key mayoral seats in Taipei, Taoyuan and Keelung, and won control of 13 out of 22 cities and counties in the nine-in-one local elections. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) last night resigned as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson over a poor showing by the party’s candidates, who were handpicked by the DPP leadership rather than chosen through primaries. The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) won its first high-profile race with Hsinchu mayoral candidate Ann Kao (高虹安) defeating Shen Hui-hung (沈慧虹) of the DPP with 45.02 percent of the vote to Shen’s 35.68 percent. Voters were choosing more than
UNDETERRED: The US chip designer’s plan showed that Taiwan remains attractive for investment by global companies despite cross-strait tensions, Wang Mei-hua said US graphics chip designer Nvidia Corp is planning to relocate its Hong Kong-based logistics center to Taiwan, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said on Wednesday. The government had been in discussions with Nvidia regarding tax incentives to facilitate the move since last year, Wang said in an interview with the Central News Agency, adding that the two sides had reached a consensus. Wang did not provide details about the timetable for the move or the planned tax arrangements for Nvidia. The relocation would boost the local economy, as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is a major supplier of graphics processing
Kaohsiung police last week busted a money laundering operation suspected of seeking to interfere in tomorrow’s local elections. The operation was allegedly headed by a man surnamed Lee (李), who had received NT$9.5 billion (US$306.18 million) from China over the past six months, Kaohsiung police said yesterday, adding that Lee’s ring is suspected to be part of a larger Chinese effort to interfere in the elections and support pro-China candidates. Officers arrested Lee, 35, and his girlfriend, searched his mansion, and seized the money he had allegedly received from China and three luxury vehicles, police said. The operation was disguised as an online
CAUTION: Wearing a mask in crowded places and for people with chronic illnesses or allergies can help prevent COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, the CECC said The mask mandate for outdoor settings is to lifted on Thursday, and the weekly cap on international inbound travelers is to be removed on Dec. 10, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said at its regular news conference yesterday. The center also announced that starting from Friday, children aged five to 11 can receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster, and that rules for visiting hospital patients are to be partially eased from Dec. 10. While wearing a mask will no longer be mandatory outdoors, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) reminded the public that it would still be required
RSS