Taiwanese fishermen's rights and national security have been jeopardized by Chinese fishing vessels, which have recently been intruding into waters of Matsu (
The association told the Liberty Times, the Taipei Times' sister newspaper, that some of its members had become upset with the Chinese fishermen, who not only intruded into Taiwan's waters to fish but also went ashore to rest.
Chen Jui-chang (陳瑞昌) of the association told the Liberty Times that the phenomenon had existed for a long time but that the situation had gotten worse than ever because of the Coast Guard Administration's (CGA) lax management.
"Recently, waters off Matsu have become like wide-open doors, through which Chinese fishing vessels can come and go freely," Chen said.
For example, on Aug. 6, several Chinese vessels were only 10m away from the port of Niuchiao Auko (
Chen said the association members spent two months getting footage of intrusions by Chinese fishing vessels in waters off Matsu and produced a video to spotlight the serious problem.
Chen said that some Chinese fishing vessels caught by the CGA were released after bribing officials with high-quality fish. Meanwhile, some local government officials admitted that Chinese fishing vessels had intruded into the Matsu area not only to fish, but also to engage in smuggling.
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) officials told the Times yesterday that the Chinese government had refused to negotiate with Taiwan on the issue. However, Taiwan will not give up trying to communicate with Beijing in the spirit of mutual benefit and friendly cooperation.
MAC officials stressed that more manpower and resources would be invested soon to crack down on smuggling from China.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
A Taiwanese woman on Sunday was injured by a small piece of masonry that fell from the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican during a visit to the church. The tourist, identified as Hsu Yun-chen (許芸禎), was struck on the forehead while she and her tour group were near Michelangelo’s sculpture Pieta. Hsu was rushed to a hospital, the group’s guide to the church, Fu Jing, said yesterday. Hsu was found not to have serious injuries and was able to continue her tour as scheduled, Fu added. Mathew Lee (李世明), Taiwan’s recently retired ambassador to the Holy See, said he met
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
RSS