Activists and government officials yesterday vowed to protect the right of Taiwanese fishing boats to operate around the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) and to defend the country’s sovereignty over the region.
A small group from the World Chinese Alliance in Defense of the Diaoyu Islands (世界華人保釣聯盟), an organization composed of activists from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and China, joined hands in their latest move to assert Chinese ownership over the area, which is also known as Senkaku Islands in Japan.
Chinese Association for Protecting the Diaoyutais chairman Hsieh Mang-lin (謝夢麟) said yesterday that a group of six Taiwanese would rendezvous with 14 other activists led by Chan Miu Tak (陳妙德), chairman of the Hong Kong-based Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands, at sea near Pengjia Islet (彭佳嶼) off Taiwan’s northernmost tip today before heading toward the Diaoyutai Islands.
Photo: CNA
“This time we will be fully prepared and plan to land on the Diaoyutai Islands to hoist the flag of the Republic of China to maintain our sovereignty and fishing rights,” he said.
According to the Web site of the Chinese Association for Protecting the Diayutais, the Bao Diao II vessel, with 14 people on board — including Chan, activists from China and Macau, four crew members, and two journalists from Phoenix Hong Kong Channel — departed at 12:45pm on Sunday.
The Taiwanese group is scheduled to set sail from Yilan this evening in two fishing boats.
Hsieh said that move was triggered by the upcoming visit to the islands by 50 Japanese lawmakers on Sunday.
“We will act in concert with the group led by Chan to proclaim that Diaoyutai Islands belong to Chinese people,” Chan was quoted by the Japan Times as saying. “Japanese lawmakers are planning to land on the islands on Aug. 19. We want to get there before they do.”
“The Diaoyu Islands are Chinese territory. We will fight for the sovereignty of the Chinese nation,” Chan said.
Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Wang Chung-yi (王崇儀) said the agency would send coast guard vessels to escort and protect Taiwanese activists in accordance with previous practice.
“As long as the activists meet regulations that forbid the carriage of items of dangerous goods onto a ship and the weather permits, we have no reason to stop fishing boats from setting sail to Diaoyutai Islands,” Wang said.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Steve Hsia (夏季昌) reiterated that Taiwan has sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands, which are traditional fishing grounds for Taiwanese fishermen and part of its territory.
Hsia called on all parties to remain rational and practice restraint to avoid escalating tensions.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to