“Temporarily shelving criminal responsibility” allowed authorities to break an impasse in negotiations with China over two Chinese fishers who died when their boat capsized off Kinmen County in February, Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said yesterday.
Taiwanese and Chinese officials had been in negotiations since Feb. 14, when a fishing boat being chased by a Coast Guard Administration (CGA) vessel in waters near Kinmen capsized, killing the two men.
Negotiations centered on the alleged responsibility of the CGA in the deaths.
Photo courtesy of CNews Midday Talk Show
Officials from both sides on Tuesday met for the 16th time over the issue, reaching a consensus on proceeding with compensating the families of the fishers, Liang said.
The bodies and what remains of the capsized boat would be returned to China, he said.
Previously, the bodies and the boat were regarded as criminal evidence, so they had not been repatriated, he said.
“From Beijing’s perspective, if the issue remained unresolved, it would be impossible for China to promote the integration of [China’s] Fujian Province and Taiwan,” Liang said.
China initially demanded that the CGA admit to being in error and apologize, which was at odds with Taiwan’s view of the incident, he said.
“We believe that before prosecutors have completed their investigation, the CGA cannot admit mistakes or apologize,” he said. “The turning point came when both parties agreed to put the criminal part on hold and deal with compensation first.”
There is still a difference of ideas over blame for the incident, Liang said.
China believes that the coast guard maliciously collided with the fishing boat, causing it to capsize and demands that Taiwan bear full responsibility, including offering an apology and compensation, he said.
Taiwan’s perspective is that as the boat was not registered and had illegally entered Taiwan’s territorial waters, it had to be detained and inspected, he said.
“The CGA believes that it was acting in accordance with the law,” he said. “The Chinese boat did not stop to allow an inspection during the pursuit and capsized as a result.”
Asked about a 25-year-old noncommissioned officer surnamed Hu (胡) who is in Chinese custody after being rescued by the China Coast Guard in waters near Fujian on March 17, Liang said that the situation was unacceptable.
“It seems completely unreasonable to us,” he said. “It was a sea rescue, how can China justify detaining him?”
Hu had been on a fishing trip when he fell into the water.
China said it was holding Hu, as he was a “sensitive person” due to being a retired member of Taiwan’s military.
Liang was also asked about the Da Jin Man No. 88 (大進滿88), a Taiwanese fishing boat, and its crew, who were detained and the boat seized on July 2 by the China Coast Guard.
“The communist Chinese government believes that Taiwanese fishers are also Chinese and allows them to fish in its waters,” he said. “However, during the fishing moratorium, no exceptions can be made for Taiwanese. If an exception were made, Chinese fishers would see that as unfair treatment.”
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