Taiwan, China reach settlement terms over Kinmen speedboat incident

Kinmen, July 30 (CNA) Authorities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait said Tuesday that settlement terms had been reached regarding a deadly chase between a Chinese speedboat and a Coast Guard Administration (CGA) vessel in Kinmen five months ago.

"We will actively implement the agreement," CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-Chin (謝慶欽) told reporters after a one-hour negotiation held at Golden Lake Hotel in outlying Kinmen County.

However, Hsieh said the CGA was "currently unable to disclose" details of the deal, "out of respect for the families involved and the consensus reached in the cross-strait agreement."

Meanwhile, Li Zhaohui (李朝暉), deputy director of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office in Quanzhou City, the Chinese representative in the negotiation, confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

He added that he hoped the "relevant parties in Taiwan" would honor the agreement and provide a resolution for the families.

The Kinmen speedboat incident occurred on Feb. 14 when Taiwan's Coast Guard pursued a Chinese vessel that entered prohibited waters off the coast of Kinmen.

According to the Coast Guard, the unnamed and unregistered Chinese boat with four people on board refused a request to board and inspect it, and later fled, setting off a high-speed chase that ended when the vessel made a sudden turn.

The speedboat collided with a CGA patrol vessel and capsized in waters near Kinmen while being pursued, leading to the deaths of two Chinese crew members.

The other two Chinese nationals who survived the incident returned to China on Feb. 20, while the bodies of the deceased crew and the speedboat remained in Kinmen for further investigation.

The incident raised tensions around Kinmen, located less than 10 kilometers off the coast of the Chinese city of Xiamen.

Officials representing the two sides held several rounds of talks in February and March but failed to reach an agreement on matters relating to the case, including how to compensate the families of the deceased.

After attending a public memorial service in Kinmen on Tuesday, CGA Director-General Chang Chung-lung (張忠龍) again apologized for the failure to record evidence during the enforcement and for the suffering endured by the families of the victims.