Police arrested a member of Greenpeace yesterday as the environmental organization launched its first ever protest in Taiwan, trying to stop a tuna carrier from leaving port, the group said.
Tipsuda Atichakaro, a Thai citizen, climbed onto an anchor cable dangling from the Lung Yuin, a refrigerated tuna transporter, shortly before it was to leave Greater Kaohsiung, Greenpeace said.
She took turns with another activist chaining herself to the cable, sparking a three-hour standoff with police, which ended when officers arrested her on charges of endangering public safety. The other protester was not detained.
“She will be transferred to prosecutors,” an officer with the Greater Kaohsiung harbor police said.
The Lung Yuin, a 3,431 tonne Taiwanese-owned vessel registered in Vanuatu and used to store and transport tuna catch, has “a history of involvement in illegal fishing operations,” Greenpeace said.
“Reefers like the Lung Yuin facilitate the large-scale tuna plunder of the Pacific region,” Greenpeace East Asia Oceans campaigner Kao Yu-fen (高于棻) said. “It should not be allowed to use Taiwanese ports unless it can at least comply to simple requirements that it register its operations with Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency.”
Greenpeace demanded Taiwanese authorities immediately investigate what it referred to as the vessel’s “illegal practices.”
The ship’s owner, Wang Shung-lung (王順隆), denied the accusations, saying the vessel was registered with international bodies, such as the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, which manages the tuna resources in the Eastern Pacific region.
“We also reported to the Fisheries Agency in advance of the scheduled journey to Fiji this time,” he said.
Wang, whose family operates the ship along with 12 other tuna fishing vessels, was unhappy with the methods chosen by the Greenpeace activists.
“I respect their appeal calling for preserving marine reserves. Would that be good to me if the fish resources became depleted?” he said.
“But they shouldn’t take such irrational action. It isn’t helpful for their cause at all,” he added.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS