The first group of Chinese workers to be hired by Taiwanese fishing boats under a new screening system arrived in Taiwan yesterday.
The 48 Chinese workers, the first group hired under an agreement on fishing crew cooperation signed by Taiwan and China in December last year, were ferried to the Tamsui Second Fishing Port in Taipei County, from Fujian Province, in southern China.
Soon after the Chinese workers arrived, security inspectors from the Maritime Patrol Directorate General under the Coast Guard Administration boarded the boat to confirm their identities.
Five of the workers got off in Tamsui and immediately underwent health exams and had their personal documents and luggage checked.
The other workers were later dropped off at the ports of Yehliu (野柳) (20) and Shenao (深澳) (8) in Taipei County, Badouzih (八斗子) (6) in Keelung City and Dasi (大溪) (9) in Yilan County, according to the Fisheries Agency.
They had all been hired in advance by local fishing boat owners through qualified manpower brokerage agencies.
Before the agreement on fishing crew cooperation was signed late last year, Chinese nationals working on Taiwanese fishing boats were not allowed to set foot in Taiwan. They had to stay on fishing boats or so-called “hotels on the sea” off the country’s coast.
The agreement also enables local fishing boats to better screen Chinese workers they hire. Previously, no mechanism existed to systematically check the identities, backgrounds, or health of the Chinese nationals they employed.
Since the pact was signed on Dec. 22 last year, 14 brokerage agencies, including the Taiwan Provincial Fishermen’s Association, were approved to introduce Chinese fishing workers into Taiwan, the agency said.
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