Taiwan president insists on joint probe into fisherman's death


Tags: Philippine Coast Guard , Taiwan
Despite the Philippine government's initial refusal, Taiwan will continue negotiating with the Philippines for a joint investigation into the encounter in disputed waters that resulted in the death of a Taiwanese fisherman last May 9.

Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou instructed the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Justice to continue negotiating with the Philippines for the joint investigation, Taipei Times reported Sunday.

“President Ma believes that the incident requires both sides to cooperate with each other on the investigation pragmatically, and only by doing so can the truth be revealed,” Presidential Office spokesperson Lee Chia-fei said Saturday night, after Ma attended a meeting on national security.

Ma also said this was an opportunity for Taiwan and the Philippines to implement the mutual legal assistance agreement they signed earlier this year.

The death of fisherman Hung Shih-cheng, 65, prompted Taiwan to freeze the hiring of Filipino workers and impose a travel alert discouraging travel to the Philippines.

Earlier Saturday, a team of Taiwanese investigators and prosecutors returned from Manila after the Philippine Justice Department thumbed down a joint probe.

Lee added the Taiwan investigation team would continue its efforts when the Philippines is “ready.”

Earlier, Chen Wen-chi, head of the Ministry of Justice’s Department of International and Cross-Strait Legal Affairs, said the delegation had made some progress on initiating a judicial investigation with the Philippine Department of Justice, but said further negotiations were needed.

In a report on Saturday by Agence France-Presse quoted President Ma as saying Taiwan continues to pursue diplomatic means to solve the dispute with the Philippines.

"I hope everyone can calmly and peacefully resolve the issue to avoid hurting bilateral ties," Ma said while meeting a group of international scholars.

Amid some reports of harassment against Filipinos in Taiwan, Ma also said he has instructed relevant Taiwanese units to protect some 87,000 Filipinos living and working on the island to ensure they are not harmed. — LBG, GMA News

Tags: Philippine Coast Guard , Taiwan

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