Families of Dead Chinese Fishers Slam Taiwan's Investigation

Three weeks after two Chinese fishers died during an encounter with Taiwan's coast guard, their family members are demanding answers.

Transcript

00:00 Praying for their loved ones' souls, these families from China are in Taiwan's outlying

00:06 Jinmen Islands to say goodbye to their deceased relatives.

00:10 They were among four Chinese fishers on board a vessel that overturned when it encountered

00:14 Taiwan's Coast Guard three weeks ago.

00:16 The incident is being investigated, and the Coast Guard maintain they are not to blame

00:20 for the Chinese boat capsizing.

00:22 But the families of the two Chinese fishers that died disagree with that version of the

00:26 story.

00:27 "They were clearly being pretended to be dead, and no one was to be held responsible.

00:32 Not even the simplest apology.

00:37 We are very saddened."

00:40 These family members of the deceased came to Jinmen two weeks ago to identify the bodies

00:44 and speak with prosecutors, who have been unable to determine who is at fault for their

00:48 deaths.

00:49 The Coast Guard, which says the Chinese speedboat overturned while escaping inspection, offered

00:54 condolence money, but the families refused.

00:56 "We gave each of them 100,000 yuan."

00:59 "It's different from the compensation we were talking about."

01:01 "It's different.

01:02 It's just a way of paying back for our family's sacrifice.

01:03 We hope to pay back through red tails."

01:08 It's been nearly a month since the two fishers died, aggravating tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

01:13 China claims Taiwan as its own, and there have been no official talks between the two

01:17 sides for years, as Beijing refuses to speak with Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party.

01:23 And now, Chinese representatives from the Quanzhou Taiwan Affairs Office are blaming

01:27 Taiwan's ruling DPP for the lack of closure.

01:30 "The Taiwanese side has left Jinmen on March 3.

01:38 No response has been received.

01:42 It is clear that the DPP government has not resolved the issue.

01:48 The consequences of this are the responsibility of the Democratic Progressive Party."

01:53 But Taiwanese officials say they want to continue dialogue with Chinese representatives to resolve

01:58 tensions in the Strait.

01:59 "There is no such thing as a closure.

02:01 I think there are progressive and non-progressive.

02:04 Both sides should go back and review and ask for advice."

02:08 But without an agreement on what occurred with the Chinese fishing vessel in the Strait,

02:12 responsibility and reparations for the incident seem far away, leaving the families of the

02:17 deceased still searching for answers.

02:19 Alex Chen and Tiffany Wong for Taiwan Plus.

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