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Sylvie Zhuang

Lawrence Chung

Mainland China and Taiwan have reached a deal over the deaths of two mainland fishermen in February, agreeing to compensate the victims’ families and repatriate the bodies of the two men.
The agreement broke a political stalemate and ended months of finger-pointing between the two sides, which had not officially met to resolve the incident since March.
The men drowned after their boat capsized during a chase by the Taiwanese coastguard in waters off the Taiwanese defence outpost of Quemoy, also known as Kinmen, on February 14.
Mainland and Taiwanese officials met soon after the incident, holding 15 rounds of talks, but the negotiations stalled in March.
The incident added fuel to the flames of cross-strait relations, with the Taiwanese coastguard accusing the men of trespassing in restricted waters and mainland officials accusing the island’s authorities of “rough dispersal of the fishing boat”.
However, the mainland and Taiwan signed an agreement on the return of the bodies and their vessel as well as compensation.
“It has been over five months since the incident occurred. The two sides have finally reached consensus in their negotiations,” said Li Zhaohui, deputy director of the Quanzhou Taiwan Affairs Office.
“We hope that the relevant parties in Taiwan will actively implement the agreed-upon terms, to bring peace to the victims and their families.”
The agreement was witnessed by members of the affected families, in the presence of Li and Xu Weiwei, from the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits.


Taiwan Coast Guard Administration deputy director General Hsieh Ching-chin was among the Taiwanese officials who took part in the talks at the Jinhu Hotel in Quemoy.
However, the two sides have yet to disclose the details of the terms. When asked, Hsieh said only that an agreement was reached after Tuesday’s talks, and that the atmosphere of the talks was “nice”.
Local media, quoting unnamed sources, reported that in addition to offering 1.5 million yuan (US$207,000) to each family in compensation, the Taiwanese side would apologise to the bereaved families for the deaths.
Shortly after the talks, both sides attended a public memorial service at a funeral home, during which the head of the island’s coastguard, Chang Chung-lung, apologised to the families.
“The Coast Guard Administration has apologised multiple times to the public and the families for not recording evidence in this case,” Chang said during the ceremony. “We are willing to publicly apologise once again for the suffering endured by the families and urge them to take care in their grief.”
In previous rounds of talks, the Taiwanese side maintained that the incident was caused by the fishermen’s illegal entry into Quemoy’s waters with an unnamed and unregistered boat.
After the funeral service, the mainland side sent two ships to retrieve the remains of the fishermen and their boat, while the mainland delegation returned to Quanzhou.
The agreement comes after signs of progress earlier this month, when TAO spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian said the two sides were in touch on the matter and hoped the issues “can be properly resolved through negotiation”.
Discussions were scheduled last week but postponed because of Typhoon Gaemi.
The talks were a rare instance of direct discussions between officials from both sides. Beijing cut off communication with Taipei in 2016 in protest over the decision by Taiwan’s then leader Tsai Ing-wen not to acknowledge the one-China principle – something Beijing regards as the foundation for any talks.


Liang Wen-chieh, vice-chairman of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, described the talks as “between the parties involved” rather than “official-to-official”.
He said the key to the successful negotiations was the “continuous communication” between both sides, which helped “align their understanding and make progress possible”.
When asked for details of the agreement, Liang said: “It includes the return of the bodies and the fishing boat, as well as everything that has been accomplished today.”
Regarding the detention of the “Da Jin Man 88” fishing boat and its crew by mainland authorities, as well as the custody of a Taiwanese soldier, Liang expressed hope for a “swift resolution”, noting the differences in circumstances.
Earlier this month, the mainland coast guard detained a Taiwanese fishing boat and its five crew members in waters controlled by Beijing, alleging that they had “violated the summer fishing moratorium by using small-hole trawl nets”.
In mid-March, a soldier identified only by his last name, Hu, was held in Quanzhou after his boat drifted into mainland waters in foggy weather during a fishing trip with a civilian friend. The friend was released, but the soldier from Quemoy has remained in custody on accusations of “intentionally” concealing his occupation.




Chen Yu-jen, a legislator from the Quemoy constituency and a member of the main opposition party Kuomintang, said on Tuesday that she was “confident” about the return of the fishing boat and its crew, as well as the soldier, following the resolution of the February capsizing incident.
“The mainland side has placed great importance on the Quemoy incident and has promised to return [the soldier] after reaching a consensus,” Chen said, noting her role in facilitating communication between the two sides.
“Hopefully, I will accompany his family to [Quanzhou] in August to retrieve him,” she said, expressing confidence that there would soon be a “satisfactory conclusion” regarding the return of the Da Jin Man 88 and its crew.
Prospects for an improvement in cross-strait relations remained dim after William Lai Ching-te, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party and a man branded by Beijing as a “troublemaker”, was elected to succeed Tsai as Taiwan’s leader.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state. However, Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.


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Mainland China and Taiwan reach deal to resolve crisis over fishing crew deaths near Quemoy

Two men died in February after their boat was pursued by the Taiwanese coastguard. Photo: Coast Guard Administration’s Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch

5 months after fishermen deaths off Quemoy, can Beijing and Taiwan put tragedy to rest?

A new date will be set for cross-strait talks to resolve matters related to the deaths of two mainland fishermen, who drowned 
 during a pursuit by Taiwanese coastguard off Quemoy in February. Photo: Taiwan Coast Guard Administration

China Coast Guard detains Taiwanese fishing boat and 5 crew members near Quemoy

Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration says the fishing boat Da Jin Man 88 was stopped by two mainland coastguard vessels late on Tuesday while operating in waters 23.7 nautical miles off Quemoy.  Photo: Handout

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China

Politics

More than a dozen rounds of sometimes acrimonious talks end with agreement on compensation to families and return of remains


More than a dozen rounds of sometimes acrimonious talks end with agreement on compensation to families and return of remains.


Taiwan economy