Taiwan's Diaoyutais protest makes splash in China
ROC Central News Agency
2012/09/25 17:46:20
Beijing, Sept. 25 (CNA) China's state media highlighted Tuesday news that Taiwanese fishing boats had entered waters near the disputed Diaoyutai Islands and that Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) vessels had a standoff with their Japanese counterparts.
The China Central Television carried a segment on the move by 75 Taiwanese fishing boats to assert Taiwanese fishing rights around the island group, which lies around 100 nautical miles northeast of Taiwan.
Escorted by 12 CGA vessels, the boats at one point were just three nautical miles from the Japan-controlled Diaoyutais.
More than 10 Japanese patrol boats used flashlights and water cannons in an attempt to disperse the Taiwanese fishing boats, warning them over loudspeakers to leave the area.
The CGA responded in kind, firing their own water cannons and using loudspeakers and lights to say that "these are Taiwan's territorial waters. You should not interfere with the operations of our fishermen."
The CGA vessels maneuvered between the Taiwanese fishing boats and the Japanese patrol boats, at one point stopping in front of the Japanese vessels to allow the fishing boats to complete their protest.
The waters around the uninhabited island chain have been a traditional fishing area for Taiwanese fishermen for several decades, but they have been harassed and chased away by Japanese Coast Guard ships in recent years.
The protest was widely covered by Chinese media, mostly on the Internet. The state-run Xinhua news agency also carried photos of the incident on its website.
Hong Kong-based Phoenix Satellite Television reported the event live after the Taiwanese boats got close to the Diaoyutais, followed by breaking news coverage by other online media.
The wide coverage led to great attention among Chinese netizens, with the news becoming the second-most popular news headline on Baidu -- China's online search giant. The most-searched news was the handover of China's first aircraft carrier to its navy.
The Taiwanese fishermen's action won praise from some Chinese Internet users, who questioned their government's measures to assert the country's sovereignty of the island chain.
Responding to earlier reports that as many as 1,000 Chinese fishing boats were supposed to converge on the disputed islands, one Internet user posted: "Haven't the 1,000 Chinese boats arrived after so many days?"
The Taiwanese fishing boats finished their protest and were expected to return to their home port early the following day.
(By Lawrence Chiu, Rita Cheng and Kendra Lin)
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