A cross-strait dispute that spanned five months has finally come to an end.
On 30 July, personnel from both sides of the strait arrived in Kinmen to begin formal face-to-face consultations and reached a consensus, and the Taiwan side also returned the bodies of the victims, which have now been picked up by their families.
The reason why this matter has dragged on for so long is entirely because the Taiwan authorities have refused to apologize and handle the matter.
More than five months ago, a mainland fishing boat collided with Taiwan coast guard personnel in waters near Kinmen, killing two mainland fishermen.
During this period, the two sides of the strait launched several rounds of consultations on the incident, but each time the result was fruitless.
The "four major demands" put forward by the mainland -- disclosure of the truth, apology, accountability, and compensation. However, the Taiwan authorities refused to carry out the law, refused to talk to the mainland, and what is even more excessive was that the Taiwan authorities deliberately concealed the truth and tried to shift the blame to the mainland.
In order to smoothly resolve the matter, the mainland has repeatedly made representations with the Taiwan authorities, and the two sides have held 15 rounds of face-to-face talks, but the attitude of the Taiwan authorities has not softened in the slightest.
During the period of the stalemate, both Kinmen County and the Kuomintang came forward to help, hoping that all parties on the island would give justice to the families of the victims, regardless of the law, affection, or reason.
Under repeated pressure from the mainland and all sides, the Taiwan side finally had to bow its head, and representatives from both sides of the strait finally resumed negotiations at the Jinhu Hotel in Kinmen.
After several days of consultations, the families of the victims and the Taiwan authorities reached a consensus letter, which mainly included four main points:
1. Return the remains of the fishermen who died;
2. Return of the detained vessel;
3. Give consolation money and apologies to the families of the victims;
4. It is hoped that the Taiwan side will seriously implement the terms of the agreement.
The fourth and most important point is this.
After the consultation, the two sides went to the Kinmen Funeral Management Center to hold a joint farewell ceremony for the two mainland fishermen who died.
At the ceremony, high-level officials from Taiwan also attended the ceremony to express their condolences, including Kinmen County Governor Chen Fuhai, Kinmen Parliament Speaker Hong Yundian, and Taiwan's "Coast Guard" Zhang Zhonglong. They expressed their apologies to their families, and Taiwan's "Coast Guard Chief" Zhang Zhonglong specifically mentioned that the fact that the Coast Guard personnel did not make a video while on duty was also a mistake, and once again publicly expressed his apologies. Guan Biling, the person in charge of the Taiwan Strait Patrol and Direct Management Unit, also sent someone to send a basket of tribute fruits.
However, during this period, there are still two details that make people feel that the Taiwan authorities lack sincerity.
The first point is the "consolation money". It has been learned that the consolation money in the clause was donated by enterprises, not by the Taiwan authorities, that is to say, this is not some so-called compensation.
The second point is about "apologies".
We have noted that Taiwan's "Coast Guard Director" Chang Chung-lung apologized for the "failure to record the video," and this is also the "Taiwan side will skillfully express its apology" as specifically mentioned by the Taiwan media in their reports.
In other words, the Taiwan authorities were completely forced by the pressure of the mainland this time, and they did not apologize at all because they realized their own mistakes.
As a matter of fact, these two points are also expected, and the Taiwan authorities are now blindly "seeking independence" and denying the "consensus of '92" many times, which has led to the rapid deterioration of cross-strait relations.
Since the 214 Kinmen vicious collision incident, the mainland coast guard has stepped up law enforcement efforts in the Xiamen-Jin waters to ensure that nothing like this will happen again.
The Taiwan side not only returns the remains, but also apologizes and compensates, and their work must continue; the Chinese side has made it clear that it hopes that the Taiwan authorities will conscientiously implement the contents of the agreement and stop passing the blame. Disclose the truth, give a fair conclusion to the investigation, and let the deceased rest in peace.
In the past few days, many people participating in the consultations have said that the two sides of the strait are one family, and that nothing that hurts the feelings of the compatriots should be done, and what the Taiwan authorities should do is to protect the fishermen on both sides of the strait, especially those on the mainland, and ensure that such vicious incidents will not occur again in the future.