Protest over island
22/6/2005 8:16
More than 10 "parliament" members from Taiwan sailed off to the economic
sea area northeast to the island yesterday, in a move to solidarity towards
protecting local fishermen from Japan's harassment, according to reports from
Taipei.
Wang Jin-pyng, the "parliament" president who boarded a military
frigate on the journey of protest to the waters near China's Diaoyu Islands,
said that Taiwan's fishing boats in the area have been detained frequently by
the Japanese without any justified reasons when they were operating in their
traditional fishing waters.
"We hold this demonstration to placate our
fishermen and fill them with a sense of security," Wang said, "the sovereignty
of the Diaoyu Islands belongs to us, and this is what we must speak out in a
loud voice."
In recent years, Taiwan fishermen have been repeatedly warned,
expelled, fined or had their boats impounded by Japanese patrol vessels when
fishing in the area.
Their fishing rights were trampled upon on June 8,
triggering a new round of uproar among Taiwan fishermen, who not only lambasted
Japan's harassment but complained about the ambiguous attitude of Taiwan
authorities on the issue.
The fishermen's self-defense action, however, has
drawn enthusiastic response from all social strata on the Taiwan Island,
obliging local media to denounce the Taiwan authorities for their failure to
protect their fishermen.
China's Foreign Ministry has also urged Japan to
handle the fishing dispute prudently and properly.
"The Chinese government
attaches great importance to the protection of the legitimate fishing rights of
China's fishermen, including those from Taiwan," ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao
said in Beijing yesterday.
Xinhua
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