TAIPEI – After more than four months in detention, the captain of the Taiwanese fishing vessel Da Jin Man 88 has been released by Chinese authorities upon payment of a fine, Taiwan’s coast guard announced on November 16.
The Da Jin Man 88, carrying five crew members, was seized by China’s coast guard on July 2 near Taiwan’s Kinmen islands for allegedly violating Beijing’s seasonal fishing ban. While four crew members were released in August, the captain and the vessel remained detained until November 15.
Upon release, Taiwan’s coast guard escorted the boat to Penghu, its registered home port, arriving around midnight. The exact amount of the fine was not disclosed, but local media reported that two Penghu politicians facilitated the payment of over 210,000 yuan (approximately S$39,000). China’s Taiwan Affairs Office confirmed the captain’s release, stating that “punitive measures” had been applied.
This incident underscores the ongoing tensions between Taiwan and China, particularly in the waters near the Kinmen islands, which are administered by Taipei but lie just a few kilometers from China’s mainland. Earlier in the year, a Chinese fishing boat capsized while being pursued by Taiwan’s coast guard, resulting in the deaths of two crew members and further straining cross-strait relations.