The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday denied it had been informed of plans by some fishermen to sail to the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) to bolster Taiwan’s claim to sovereignty over the island chain, but said it would protect Taiwanese fishermen who travel to the area.
The coast guard’s remarks came in the wake of media reports that said fishermen in Yilan County were planning to sail to the islands on Saturday to illustrate Taiwan’s territorial claim over them. The islands lie about 120 nautical miles (220km) northeast of the country. According to the media reports, the coast guard said it is to dispatch patrol vessels to protect them.
The coast guard said it will continue its regular missions to protect Taiwanese fishermen operating in waters near the islands.
Meanwhile, responding to media reports that 1,000 China-registered fishing boats were to set sail for the islands yesterday to illustrate China’s claim to the disputed chain, the coast guard said that since a Chinese summer fishing moratorium has been lifted, it is highly unlikely that so many Chinese fishing boats would converge on the island cluster at once.
It said some of the boats are probably just sailing to other fishing grounds in the surrounding area.
Suao Fishermen’s Association director Lin Yueh-ying (林月英) said the disputed region is rich in natural resources and said that if fishermen voluntarily sail to the region to protest, the association will definitely lend assistance.
Meanwhile, Yilan County Councilor Lin Chi-shan (林棋山), of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), said the Taiwanese fishermen planning to sail to the Diaoyutais on Saturday are set to travel aboard 60 fishing vessels and asked for NT$5 million (US$170,160) from the county government in fuel subsidies. As far as the Republic of China government is concerned, the islands are under the administration of Yilan County, he said.
According to the councilor, the county government would be failing to support Taiwan’s position on the Diaoyutais issue if it refuses to subsidize the fishermen.
However, Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) has declined to hand over any cash, saying that the focus should instead be on laying the groundwork for the next round of fishing rights talks between Taiwan and Japan.
Japan recently purchased three of the disputed islands from their private owners, prompting large-scale violent protests against Japan in China. The two countries, along with Taiwan, claim sovereignty over the islands.
A recently discovered supernova is the brightest and closest to Earth identified in the past decade, and can be observed with basic equipment, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said on Wednesday. The supernova has an absolute magnitude of 14.9 in luminosity and is in the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101) about 21 million light-years from Earth. It was discovered early on May 20 by Japanese amateur astronomer Koichi Itagaki, who immediately reported the finding to the International Astronomical Union, the museum said. The supernova was designated SN 2023ixf following the astronomical naming conventions for supernovas, it added. The museum said that it observed
Tropical storm Guchol is moving in a northeasterly direction off the east coast of the Philippines and will not hit Taiwan, but will impact local weather starting on Friday, the Central Weather Bureau said Thursday. The storm would bring a low-pressure system northward toward the vicinity of Taiwan, forecaster Chao Hung (趙竑) said. Northern Taiwan will see intermittent rain showers in the morning, and thunderstorms in the afternoon on Friday, he said, adding that rain would be heavier on the east coast and in the central-southern mountainous areas. Rainfall would continue into Saturday, and would spread throughout Taiwan proper, he
Exiled Chinese democracy advocate Wang Dan (王丹) yesterday denied an accusation by former Taiwanese political worker Lee Yuan-chun (李援軍) that Wang had sexually harassed him in a hotel room in New York nine years ago. There was a huge gap between Lee’s accusation and his own understanding and memory, Wang wrote on Facebook, adding it was hard for him to respond further regarding a “unilateral description” made by someone else. Wang made the remarks after his initial response on Facebook was met with criticism, with people saying he did not directly address the allegation. Lee on Friday wrote on Facebook that he
A man was arrested in Hsinchu on Saturday on suspicion of filming women in the women’s washroom of a shopping mall in the city, local Chinese-language media reported on Thursday. The man was arrested at around noon on Saturday when a woman using a stall in the mall’s washroom noticed a cellphone being held above her from the neighboring stall, reports said. The woman ran out of the washroom and yelled to her husband to help her, after which the suspect – who was dressed as a woman – attempted to flee, but was subdued by other men until police
RSS