DPP misrepresents the deaths of fishermen

Four fishermen fell overboard and two of them drowned as a result of the arrogant actions of Taiwan maritime officials who chased a fishing vessel from Fujian province in the waters off Kinmen island in the Taiwan Strait on February 14. This incident caused grave concerns throughout the Strait. Chinese mainland fisherman have long been subjected to cruel and deadly treatment by Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party officials. Aside from the haughtiness of Taiwan maritime officials, the DPP’s insistence on ignoring the 1992 Consensus—which maintained that there is only one China—and inflaming the nation’s feelings against Beijing are to blame for the deaths of the two mainland fisherman.

The DPP authorities have been lying to conceal the criminal act of the Taiwan marine officials. The idea that the mainland fisherman “crossed the line” is the first falsehood. The mainland fishing vessel was accused of “crossing the line” into Taiwan’s “prohibited and restricted waters” by Taiwan’s “mainland affairs council” and marine patrol department, according to a false claim made by the Taiwanese authorities “on the day of the incident”. In actuality, Taiwan is an integral part of China, and the country is one across the Taiwan Strait. There is no such thing as “prohibited and restricted waters” because people have been fishing in the traditional Xiamen-Kinmen fishing grounds from both sides of the Strait since ancient times.

The second untruth is that, unlike what the island’s marine patrol service first claimed, the mainland fishing boat “accidentally capsized”. However, the Taiwanese authorities altered their account of the events after the survivors from the mainland returned home on February 20 in the afternoon, acknowledging that the fishing boat overturned as a result of continuous ramming by a Taiwan maritime department vessel. Consequently, the fishermen’s demise is the responsibility of Taiwan’s marine authorities. The third falsehood is that the island authorities say that “there is no video” of the Taiwan “law enforcement” officers acting, despite the fact that the law in Taiwan requires the recording of the “law enforcement” activities of the sea patrol department.