1999.02.25¡@2:41am Taiwan time updated
Taipei, Feb. 24 (CNA) The ROC government hopes the recent shooting deaths of two mainland Chinese crewmen allegedly by the captain of a Taiwan deep-sea fishing boat will not affect relations across the Taiwan Strait, a senior official said on Wednesday.
Johnnason Liu, director of the Legal Affairs Department under the Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), which charts Taiwan's policy toward mainland China, was responding to reports that the skipper of the Kaohsiung-based Chin Ching No. 12 tuna fishing boat killed two mainland sailors on Feb. 16 while the ship was in the Indian Ocean some 1,000 nautical miles northwest of Mauritius.
Liu said relevant ROC government agencies, including the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Council of Agriculture (COA), are actively handling the case in which 13 other mainland sailors were said to have jumped overboard in panic amid the shootings.
"We are determined to handle the tragic incident in a just and impartial manner, and are hopeful that the case will be dealt with strictly in accordance with the law to minimize its possible adverse effect," Liu said, adding: "Only by so doing can the rights and interests of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait be fully protected and cross-strait relations not be affected." Fishery officials said in the past, key suspects involved in similar criminal cases which occurred aboard Taiwan-owned fishing boats, regardless of their nationalities, had all been repatriated to Taiwan to stand trial.
"We hope Mauritius will repatriate the sole suspect in the Chin Ching case to Taiwan for trial as soon as possible since the killings took place in open seas aboard a Taiwan fishing vessel, which is considered our floating territory," said a COA official.
Meanwhile, a senior executive with the Kaohsiung-based Chin Ching Fishery Co. -- owner of the 490-ton tuna fishing vessel -- said skipper Kung Tai-an, 42, has confessed to the shootings and promised to assume full responsibility for the incident.
Chin Ching Co. manager Wang Ming-chi said two company executives have arrived in Mauritius and met with Kung as well as seven other surviving crewmen who have been detained by Mauritius police for questioning since the ship arrived at Port Louis on Feb. 20 after the incident.
"Kung admitted that he had gunned down the two (mutineering) mainland crewmen. He also said he is sorry for all the trouble he has caused to the company and will take full responsibility for the incident," Wang said, quoting a report from Mauritius by the company's two executives there.
Wang said the company's agent in Mauritius has helped employ a prestigious lawyer to assist in handling the case.
As there is still 50-plus tons of tuna aboard the Chin Ching No.12, Wang said the company's local agent and lawyer are negotiating with Mauritius authorities for an early release of three Taiwan crewmen to take care of the catch.
"We will also do our best to seek an early repatriation of the skipper for trial and the return of our vessel," Wang said.
Wang would not speculate on the fate of the 13 missing mainland crewmen, but he said the sailors had not used a lifeboat when they jumped ship. Despite strenuous search and rescue efforts launched by Mauritius authorities in the past few days, the whereabouts of the 13 mainland crewmen remain unknown.
The two mainland sailors killed in the incident were identified as Li Xingzheng and Yang Yong. Local press reports said the cause of the shootings may have been related to the victims' demands for pay raises and their refusal to work in recent weeks as their contracts had expired.
The boat left Kaohsiung for the Indian Ocean on Feb. 20, 1996. It originally had 25 crew members, including the skipper. Nine sailors survived the incident, including four from Taiwan, three from mainland China and two from the Philippines. One Taiwan sailor remains in hospital after sustaining injuries to his left arm during the melee.
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