Eighteen Chinese fishers were yesterday charged with allegedly catching eel in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) last week after they were apprehended by a joint Coast Guard Administration and Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office task force.
The crew have been charged with breaching the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法) and the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例).
The prosecutors’ office said that it had received a report regarding illegal nighttime fishing near the Pratas Islands from a coast guard patrol team.
Photo copied by Huang Chia-lin, Taipei Times
At 11pm on Friday, a CGA operation, lead by Chief Prosecutor Hsu Hung-ju (徐弘儒) and prosecutor Hsieh Chang-hsia (謝長夏), spotted the Jinghai 0109309 about 9 nautical miles (16.7km) northeast of the Pratas Islands, the office said.
The Chinese boat was was fishing illegally, but with the help of the Marine National Park Headquarters’ Dongsha Management Office, it was determined that no protected marine species, or any of the seven species declared off-limits by the Kaohsiung City Government, had been caught, officials said.
The task force also released all 500kg of eels that had been caught by the boat’s crew.
Photo copied by Huang Chia-lin, Taipei Times
The crew were given a rapid diagnostic test for COVID-19 and all tested negative, the prosecutors’ office said.
The crew and their ship were escorted to the Port of Kaohsiung, and arrived at midnight on Monday.
The coast guard’s Southern Branch and Seventh Patrol Zone Command are responsible for arranging lodgings and quarantine for the crew members.
The coast guard said that its ships are patrolling near the Pratas Islands throughout the day to safeguard the rights of the Taiwanese fisheries industry.
The coast guard said that its actions would also go a long way toward ensuring the sustainable development of local marine resources.
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned