When two Taiwanese fishermen near the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen Islands strayed off course and got lost on March 17 due to foggy conditions, the Chinese Coast Guard promptly rescued them. Typically, this would result in a bureaucratic process to send them back home quickly.
Except one of the men, surnamed Hu, was an active duty Taiwanese soldier who lied about his identity to Chinese authorities, Knewz.com has learned.
During the typical repatriation process, something in Hu’s answers triggered suspicions among mainland authorities, who suspected he was a member of the Taiwan military, according to CNA.
Hu was fishing with a 40-year-old man surnamed Wu when the duo got lost, and Wu is expected to be repatriated shortly.
Taiwanese officials do not have a timeline for Hu’s return, but lawmaker Chen Yuzhen asked China to treat him well. She represents the Kinmen Islands and said she plans to organize a trip to visit Hu and negotiate his return to Taiwan.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Spokesperson, Chen Binhua, said Hu was being held because he “intentionally fabricated information about his occupation in an attempt to conceal it.”
Chen said China is now diving deeper into Hu’s story to better understand why he was in the area and his role in Taiwan’s military.
The detention comes as tensions between Taiwan and China near the Kinmen Islands are at a high point.
The tensions were sparked when two fishermen died after their boat crashed when they were chased out of restricted waters by Taiwan’s Coast Guard when they did not listen to earlier demands to leave the area.
Since the accident, China has ramped up its activity around the islands, even boarding a sightseeing vessel and demanding paperwork from the crew.
Beijing has said it would not recognize restricted waters around the Kinmen islands and has sent Coast Guard boats into those waters, but so far, it has left when warned by Taiwan.
On Thursday, the U.S. and Taiwan governments had to deny reports that the Americans had permanently stationed troops on the island after a Taiwanese official’s comments were interpreted to suggest an observation convoy had been sent to Kinmen.
Despite the tensions, there have been moments of cooperation within the Taiwan Strait, as Taiwanese and Chinese authorities worked together in two separate search-and-rescue incidents involving boats that had gotten into trouble.
Adm. John Aquilino, the commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said China continues to increase its military stockpiles and budgets and appears on track to be able to invade Taiwan by 2027, but added that conflict is not inevitable.
“All indications point to the PLA meeting President Xi Jinping’s directive to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027,” Aquilino said in prepared testimony. He added that the situation is the “most dangerous” he has seen in his 40 years in uniform.
China’s foreign ministry responded to Aquilino’s comments by saying “Some people in the U.S. have been trying to hype up the China-threat narrative.”
The post China Discovers Rescued Fisherman Is Actually a Soldier, Holds Him for Concealing Identity appeared first on Knewz.
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Author: Kevin McSpadden
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