TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The families of Chinese turned down offers of money from the Taiwan government, reports said Tuesday (March 5).
The unregistered ship with a crew of four illegally entered the waters near the offshore island of Kinmen on Feb. 14. As a Coast Guard Administration (CGA) patrol boat pursued it, the vessel capsized, resulting in two deaths.
Taiwan and China have since been conducting more than a dozen rounds of talks to find a consensus about the incident. Beijing has accused the CGA of ramming the Chinese vessel, while Taiwan described the incident as a collision.
The relatives of the Chinese crew members left Taiwan by ship Tuesday afternoon after refusing to accept money, CNA reported. Separately, the Chinese delegation negotiating a deal accused Taiwan of a lack of sincerity, warning the “Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities” would have to bear responsibility for the consequences.
The CGA responded it was sincere in keeping channels of communication open for further talks about the incident. The government department emphasized it had done its best to assist the visiting families, but the Chinese delegation had made demands incompatible with Taiwan’s legal system.
A CGA official said that even though the families had rejected the offer of funds, the money would still be passed on through the Red Cross. He still voiced the hope that a consensus could be found to solve the impasse.