Family members of the Taiwanese fisherman who was shot dead during a confrontation with a Philippine government vessel lambasted the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) for what they said was its attempt to avoid taking responsibility for the incident.
Hung Shih-cheng (洪石成), 65, was on the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28 — which was operating about 164 nautical miles (304km) off the southern coast of Taiwan — when he was killed by Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel on the vessel on Thursday morning.
On Friday, Phillippine Presidential Office deputy spokesperson Abigail Valte was quoted by media as saying in response to the incident that “it was an aggressive act. The [Taiwanese fishing boat] rammed into our vessel, which was certainly an aggressive act, so the PCG responded accordingly.”
Photo: CNA
Hung’s daughter Hung Tzu-chien (洪慈綪) accused the Philippine government of lying.
“No fishermen in their right mind would intentionally crash into an armed Philippine ship because they are afraid of having their ship impounded,” Hung Tzu-chien said.
“Anyone with an ounce of common sense would know that the Philippine government is making excuses to try to get them off the hook,” she added.
Photo: Lee Lee-fa, Taipei Times
Hung Yu-chih (洪育智), captain of the ship and Hung shih-cheng’s son, denied the incident was triggered by an attempt to ram the Philippine vessel.
Hung Yu-chih said it was not possible for his boat to ram the much bigger Philippine ship and that the crew had not taken any aggressive action, contrary to what the Phillippine Presidential Office official claimed.
After the shooting began, the unarmed fishing boat attempted to flee as fast as possible, he said, stressing that it was the other vessel that opened fire.
According to Hung Yu-chih, the Philippine vessel simply showed up to board the fishing boat for inspection, adding that the Philippine vessel had started shooting from less than 30m away.
“My father told everyone to go below deck and we were all scared when we heard the sound of continuous gunfire,” Hung Yu-chih said.
“We thought they were just shooting as a warning and immediately turned northeast,” Hung Yu-chih said, adding that he did not expect the Philippine ship to give chase for an hour, ultimately causing his father’s death.
“The bullets rained down on us,” he said, adding that “during the entire hour that we were trying to escape, they just kept shooting at us.”
According to Pingtung County’s Haili Borough (海里) Warden Hsu Wen-piao (許文標), who is an experienced ocean fisherman, armed Philippine ships have long menaced Taiwanese fishermen.
“They have never apologized nor offered compensation,” Hsu said, adding that the Philippine government has crossed a line.
Hsu added that armed ships from Vietnam frequently harassed fishing boats from Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港) and often took their catch at gunpoint, adding that the fishermen could do nothing about it.
“Like this current incident with Philippine armed ships, fishermen have always hoped to see ships from Taiwan’s navy sail to the rescue, but they have always been disappointed,” Hsu said.
“If the government does not toughen up and crack down on the Philippines, Taiwanese fishermen will surely turn their backs on such a government,” Hsu said, adding that authorities must set an example.
Liouciou Fishermen’s Association chief executive Tsai Pao-hsing (蔡寶興) said the explanation given by the Philippine government was flimsy at best.
The Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28 displaces only 15 tonnes, much too small to threaten an armed Philippine coast guard ship, Tsai said.
The Fisheries Agency said it has looked at data on the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28’s movements and said it potentially shows that the Philippine government may be lying.
The Coast Guard Administration said Manila should provide video footage to back up claims that the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28 initiated the conflict.
The Coast Guard Administration added it originally intended to use data from Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28’s voyage data recorder (VDR) — the equivalent of an aircraft’s black box — for investigation, but said that because the ship did not have a VDR system or a vessel monitoring system (VMS), the situation may deteriorate into a “he said, she said” scenario.
Coast Guard Administration officials added that even if a fishing vessel attempted to ram a ship in a foreign nation’s territorial waters, maritime authorities would only be justified in trying to forcibly board the ship for an inspection.
That the Philippine government was seeking to justify shooting at unarmed civilians was beyond belief, officials said.
According to the officials, the Taiwanese fishing boat only had a cargo of mahi mahi and albacore totaling 380kg.
Hung Shih-cheng was a seasoned fisherman who enjoyed some fame in Siaoliouciou (小琉球) for catching a 7m squid with his son-in-law while working on another ship in December 2006.
Additional reporting by Chiu Chun-fu, Wu Po-hsuan and CNA
Taiwan does not exclude the possibility of having formal diplomatic relations with countries that also have formal ties with China, regardless of Beijing’s stance, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Sunday. There was speculation in 2012 that Honduras was attempting to have simultaneous diplomatic relations with Taiwan and China, an idea that then-minister of foreign affairs David Lin (林永樂) rejected. Honduras severed formal ties with Taiwan on Sunday morning after establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing. President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has taken a more practical approach to relations with like-minded countries since assuming government in 2016. Previous administrations took the
Seven senior faculty members, including the principal, of a high school in Taichung were temporarily suspended from their jobs on Friday, pending an investigation by the Taichung Education Bureau into alleged bullying and abuse that led to the suicide of a student last month. The city’s education officials were too slow to suspend those involved, the student’s father told a news conference on Wednesday, at which Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and members of the Humanistic Education Foundation were also present. The boy had been a good student and a high achiever during elementary and junior-high, and had
ORIGIN UNKNOWN: The Leofoo Village Theme Park and Taipei Zoo have accounted for their baboons, as authorities continue a 12-day capture attempt Authorities in Taoyuan are searching for a non-native baboon, possibly of the chacma species, that has been spotted several times in the city’s Pingjhen District (平鎮) over the past 12 days, and was most recently seen in coastal Sinwu District (新屋). The baboon was first spotted near a local factory on March 10 in central Taoyuan, Jhensing Borough Warden Huang Chih-chieh (黃志杰) said. Huang said he requested the Leofoo Village Theme Park’s help after a second sighting on Saturday. In other sightings, the baboon raided fruit and vegetable gardens on private property, and has evaded one capture attempt via a tranquilizer dart. Media reported
Taiwan would have established formal relations with Argentina long ago if not for China’s interference, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Yui told US-based Spanish-language online news outlet Infobae in an interview published on Tuesday. Beijing has left behind a string of unfulfilled promises in Latin America, including pledges to build the Grand Nicaragua Canal and airports, docks, ports and industrial zones in El Salvador, he said. Meanwhile, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and other countries enjoy pragmatic and improving relations with Taiwan based on cooperation on the economy, culture, technology and science, he said. While Taiwan is “happy to live and let live,”