Two survivors of the incident returned to the Chinese mainland on February 20, accompanied by representatives of the Red Cross Society of China branch in the port city of Quanzhou, Fujian Province. Photo: VCG

Taiwan authorities on Wednesday morning changed the wording and admitted there had been multiple collisions between vessels in the process of a fatal incident in which Taiwan authorities chased a Chinese mainland fishing boat and capsized it in waters near Kinmen Island, just a few kilometers off Xiamen city, Fujian Province, leading to the deaths of two mainland fishermen on February 14.

Two survivors of the incident returned to the Chinese mainland on Tuesday, accompanied by representatives of the Red Cross Society of China branch from the port city of Quanzhou in Fujian. 

Mainland observers said such inconsistent behavior by the Taiwan authorities is emblematic of "shooting itself in the foot," adding that the motive behind Taiwan authorities' dishonesty is a means of acting tough while fearing serious consequences, with the initial accusation against the mainland vessel serving as a disguise. 

"We strongly condemn the Taiwan authorities' brutal treatment of mainland fishermen, and strongly condemn their disregard for life with 'violent law enforcement' and deliberately concealing the truth; we express strong indignation toward Taiwan authorities' inhumane and indifferent words and actions toward the incident," said Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council on Wednesday. Zhu urged the Taiwan authorities promptly to disclose the truth and facts, and punish the people responsible severely.

On February 14, a fishing boat from Fujian was brutally treated by Taiwan authorities in waters near Kinmen, leading to all four people on board falling into the sea, with two of them perishing. Initially, the Taiwan's ocean affairs authority accused the mainland fishing boat involved in the incident of refusing to be checked and sailing erratically, causing it to capsize. 

However, this wording by the Taiwan ocean affairs authority has been overturned after Kinmen authorities revealed on Tuesday that there had been multiple collisions between the vessels during a high-speed chase, and there was no video recorded to document the incident, Taiwan media reported on Wednesday.  

Per Taiwan media reports on Wednesday, the Taiwan ocean affairs authority admitted and confirmed the multiple collisions between the vessels. Local media criticized that the embarrassing situation lies at the feet of the Taiwan ocean affairs authority's dishonesty.  

A mainland observer reached by the Global Times on Wednesday said on condition of anonymity that the incident reflects to some extent that the Taiwan authorities aim to incite cross-Straits confrontations to steer the island's public opinion against the mainland. They also hope to test external support from foreign forces through the incident, but the reality proves that such a hard-line stance is futile.  

Taking into consideration the serious consequence of the fatal incident, in addition to "law-enforcement" measures that lack standard video recordings available to assist the investigation, it proves that the Taiwan authorities deliberately created the incident and concealed facts, which is a continuation of the island's long-term practice of brutal treatment against mainland fishermen in the waters of the Kinmen and Matsu islands, Wang Jianmin, a senior cross-Straits expert at Minnan Normal University in Fujian, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

Defending the inconsistent wording, Kuan Bi-ling, head of Taiwan's ocean affairs authority wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday that the authority did not conceal the facts at all, as they had mentioned the third-party liability insurance in the first place, saying that "it was common sense that there had been collision, otherwise it would not involve the third-party liability insurance."

Kuan also wrote that "there has been no concealment of facts with such matter, nor there has been any hidden motive."

The two survivors of the incident that returned to the mainland on Tuesday told media that they were sailing at around noon time and the vessel of Taiwan authorities charged at them around 12:50 pm. "It is impossible for our fishing boat to capsize, not even if we make sharp turns. It took a collision to capsize it," one of the surviving fishermen told reporters. 

Chinese observers refuted how the Taiwan authorities depicted the incident, saying that clearly, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities on the island, which so far are yet to show any regrets over the incident, would attempt to win sympathy and hype the issue as a case where the mainland bullies the island. These attempts would be in vain as their brutal behavior is in clear contradiction with laws and any moral standards. 

Observers urged that proper compensation for the families affected by the incident, a formal apology from the Taiwan authorities and a thorough investigation and punishment of the culprits should be essential going forward. This case should establish a new reference for the Taiwan authorities in future handling of similar affairs to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. 

In the wake of the fatal incident, the mainland strengthened law enforcement and patrols in the waters between Xiamen and Kinmen to protect the safety of mainland fishermen, with experts from both side of the Straits maintaining that the mainland's operation is fully justified, and urged the DPP to respect the lives and property of mainland fishermen with concrete actions.

No doubt, the mainland's law enforcement in relevant waters will become a new normal, which would further consolidate the international consensus that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

According to Taiwan media, a Taiwan tour vessel was boarded and inspected by the Fujian coast guard for about 30 minutes in waters between Kinmen and Xiamen on Monday. The coast guard officers examined the vessel's navigation plan, documents and captain and crew licenses. 

On Sunday, China Coast Guard spokesperson Gan Yu said that the Fujian coast guard will strengthen its maritime law enforcement and carry out regular law enforcement and patrols in the waters between Xiamen and Kinmen to ensure the safety of fishermen's lives and property.