Two Chinese fishermen die after chase at sea with Taiwanese coast guard, Beijing says ‘incident undermines goodwill’

China has condemned the death of two of its fishermen who drowned while being chased by the Taiwanese coast guard near Taiwan’s northernmost archipelago, saying the incident has undermined “mutual goodwill among compatriots”.

Following the death of two fishermen after the boat was chased by the Taiwanese coast guard on Wednesday, China also called it “the result of aggressive action taken by Taiwanese authorities” and from Taipei to ensure the safety of fishermen off the Chinese mainland. Said.

The Taiwanese coast guard responded by saying that the speedboat “trespassed” into Taiwanese waters from the Chinese mainland and that four fishermen aboard the vessel resisted inspection, leading to a pursuit.

Explaining the incident, it said the Chinese boat capsized after entering the waters off Kinmen and sped away, ignoring calls from the Taiwanese coast guard to stop for inspection.

“When their boat capsized, all four people aboard fell into the water. Taiwanese guards pulled all four out of the water but two of them died.

The deaths were unusual despite the high-level presence of Chinese fishing and naval vessels near Kinmen, which is closer to the Chinese mainland than Taiwan.

Hours after the incident, Zhu Fenglian, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of China’s State Council, strongly condemned the incident, saying it had “undermined mutual goodwill between compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.”

The incident comes at a time when both China and Taiwan are celebrating the Chinese New Year of the Dragon from February 8.

Expressing condolences and sympathy to the victims and their families, Zhu called on Taiwanese authorities to ensure the safety of mainland fishermen and prevent such incidents from happening again.

Zhu urged relevant parties in Taiwan to respect the historical fact of fishermen from both sides of the strait working in their traditional fishing areas. China claims Taiwan as part of the mainland and Beijing, under the rule of current Chinese President Xi Jinping, claims to reclaim the isolated island.

China has also expressed concern over the recent presidential election in Taiwan in which DPP candidate Lai Ching-tey won, defeating Hou Yu-ih of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang party.

Lai’s victory was considered an important milestone in Taiwanese politics as it marked the first time that a political party on the isolated island had won a presidential election for the third time on a pro-independence issue, highlighting the desire of the Taiwanese people to maintain the status quo. happened.