Attack on fishermen condemned
( 2003-10-25 11:22) (China Daily)
The Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits warned the Taiwan
authorities on Friday to stop any actions threatening the lives of fishermen
from the mainland.
"Any actions threatening the peace of the Taiwan Straits should be outlawed
and penalized. The Taiwan authorities must make up for the losses suffered by
the mainland crewmen and pledge to avoid this kind of action from now on,"
stated the association.
A mainland fishing boat was attacked by an armed Taiwan coastguard patrol
vessel, wounding two fishermen, at around 11 am on Wednesday.
The "Minlianyu 2336" fishing boat with 5 crewmen from East China's Fujian
Province was preparing to return to Fujian when it was pursued on the Taiwan
Straits and fired on.
One officer from the Taiwan patrol vessel had boarded the fishing boat for an
inspection.
The patrol vessel approached the fishing boat again and requested the boat to
stop for an inspection. Liu Haibin, the boat's captain, refused to stop and sped
up the boat to avoid any conflict.
The captain feared that the coastguards, from Matsu, may rob the crew, as had
happened on previous occasions. After a 10-minute chase, the patrol vessel fired
at the boat's port side and wheelhouse with assault rifles for three minutes,
leaving 11 holes in the boat and wounding two crewmen.
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