Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson of Taiwan Affairs Office of State Council. Photo: VCG

We express strong indignation and condemnation on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities’ move following a recent incident in waters near Kinmen that led to the death of two people on a mainland fishing boat, said Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council on Wednesday.

On February 14, a fishing boat from Fujian was brutally handled by Taiwan authorities in waters near Kinmen, leading to all four people on board falling into the sea, and two of them died.

The move by Taiwan authorities serious hurts the feelings of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, which has caused strong indignation in the mainland and widespread questioning in the island, Zhu said.

The incident has been ongoing for half a month, and the DPP authorities have not issued any apology. They have concealed, lied, and misled the public about the truth of the incident, with contradictions and attempts to cover up the truth and shift blame. Some politicians and media in the island have disregarded the facts, talked nonsense, acted arrogantly, showing no humanity, Zhu noted.

We urge the DPP authorities to promptly disclose the truth of the incident, punish those responsible, apologize to the families of the victims, meet the reasonable demands of the families of the victims, and give an explanation to the families of the victims and compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, Zhu said. 

We will resolutely defend the legitimate rights and interests of our compatriots and will not allow such incidents to happen again. The mainland reserves the right to take further measures, and the DPP authorities will bear all the consequences, Zhu said.

The two surviving fishermen of the fatal incident returned to the mainland on February 20, accompanied by representatives of the Red Cross Society of China branch in the port city of Quanzhou, Fujian Province. 

Global Times