Lawmakers across party lines said yesterday that the government should stand tough in dealing with a Philippine attack on a Taiwanese fishing vessel and provide better protection for the country’s fishing boats.
Fisherman Hung Shih-cheng (洪石成), 65, was shot dead on Thursday after a Philippine Coast Guard vessel fired at the fishing boat he was working on about 164 nautical miles (304km) off the southern coast of Taiwan.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Kuo-cheng (林國正), who had previously been an official in a fishermen’s association in Kaohsiung, said the navy should help to protect fishing boats in the area, at least during the bluefin tuna season, as most disputes are reported then.
Photo: CNA
Another KMT lawmaker, Su Ching-chuan (蘇清泉), called on the government to launch air and naval forces to safeguard Taiwanese fishing boats during the bluefin tuna season, which begins in March and ends in June.
In accordance with international law, the manner in which the Philippines attacked the unarmed fishing vessels was tantamount to “an act of piracy,” KMT Legislator Chiu Wen-yen (邱文彥) said.
People First Party Legislator Thomas Lee (李桐豪) agreed with Chiu, saying the government “should not be soft-hearted in the face of pirate attacks.”
In addition to defending against aggressive behavior, the government could also consider imposing economic sanctions on the Philippines, including reducing the number of migrant workers allowed into Taiwan and elevating the travel advisory notice to the Philippines to the highest level, Lee said.
Meanwhile, KMT Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元) posted a message on his Facebook page saying: “It’s not an incident. It’s a war. Taiwan should attack and sink all Philippines government vessels once they sail into the waters, without exception.”
KMT Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) urged the Coast Guard Administration and the navy to “make proper preparations for possible conflict” in the South China Sea.
“The government should increase the frequency of patrols and extend the airport runway at [Taiwan-controlled] Taiping Island (太平島, Itu Aba),” Lin said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said she did not want to see the incident escalate into a more serious conflict, but stressed that the Philippines needed to conduct a thorough investigation and handle the issue with the utmost sincerity.
Meanwhile, DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday demanded that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) government ask for international reparations from the Philippine government.
Su said in a Facebook post that “only by such a move could Hung’s death be justified and his spirit appeased.”
Taiwan is a maritime nation and the government should establish a comprehensive security web for the nation’s fishing industry, he added.
This is not a singular incident, Su said, adding that it was a topic concerning national security and regional relations.
Taiwan must interact with its neighboring nations and in the process set up systems and standards for future governments, he said
Former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also issued a statement, saying she was sad and regretted to learn of the incident.
The government must do something about the incident, Tsai said, who also issued a call for the Philippine government to immediately launch a judicial investigation into the incident.
Additional reporting by CNA
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we