ROC Ruling and Opposition Party Caucuses in the Legislative Yuan issues Joint Statement

Bellow we reproduce the full text of the joint statement sent to The Point by Taiwanese Embassy in Banjul:

“On May 9, 2013, a Philippine government vessel fired automatic weapons at the unarmed Taiwan fishing boat Guang Da Xing No. 28 and killed ROC fisherman Hong Shi-cheng. This attack constituted a serious violation of international and maritime law, and Hong’s death was not an “unintended loss of life,” as claimed by the Philippines. All members of the Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan), regardless of party affiliation, find the claims over the past several days made by the Office of the President of the Philippines, which have been in clear contradiction of the facts, absolutely unacceptable. We hereby strongly condemn these claims, and state our position as follows:

1.The Legislative Yuan fully supports the steps announced by the Executive Yuan to protect ROC fishermen, as well as the 11 sanctions it implemented against the Philippines.

2.The government of the Philippines bears full responsibility for the incident and should promptly respond to the four demands made by the Republic of China: It must offer a formal apology, provide proper compensation for losses suffered, conduct an expeditious and thorough investigation of the incident and punish the perpetrators, and launch fishery negotiations with Taiwan as soon as possible.

3.The government of the Philippines should cooperate with the Republic of China in conducting investigations into the incident under the provisions and in the spirit of the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters to determine the criminal liability of those involved.

4.The government of the Philippines, and not its people, should be held accountable for the incident. The Legislative Yuan calls on the people of the Republic of China to treat Filipinos in Taiwan with all due respect.”