Surviving fishermen return from Kinmen

Two fishermen from the Chinese mainland who survived a recent fishing boat incident near Kinmen, an island administered by Taiwan and located near the mainland, boarded a ferry at 4:30 pm on Tuesday to return to the mainland from Kinmen, Taiwan's China Times reported.

A fishing boat from the mainland was forcefully driven into waters near Kinmen by Taiwan authorities on Feb 14, causing all four people on board to fall into the sea, resulting in two fatalities.

Representatives of the Red Cross Society of China branch in the port city of Quanzhou in Fujian province accompanied family members of the fishermen to Kinmen on Tuesday morning to deal with the aftermath of the incident.

Upon arrival in Kinmen, Li Zhaohui, a senior consultant to the Red Cross Society of China branch in Jinjiang, Quanzhou, told media the violent pursuit of the fishing boat by the island authorities had caused strong indignation on the mainland and seriously harmed the feelings of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, China News Service reported.

"Our visit to Kinmen is to understand the truth, assist with post-incident matters and bring back the two survivors," he said.

"We demand that the relevant Taiwan authorities take the families' legitimate concerns seriously, cooperate in handling post-incident matters and avoid further harm to the families."

The group will stay in Kinmen for two days. The families of the deceased will be in Kinmen to learn more about the situation and participate in related funeral ceremonies, according to reports from Taiwan media.

The China Coast Guard announced on Sunday that the authorities in Fujian will strengthen maritime law enforcement capabilities and conduct regular patrols in the waters near Fujian's Xiamen and Kinmen to maintain order and safeguard fishermen's lives and property.

The pro-reunification Labor Party in Taiwan issued a statement on Tuesday, urging all sectors of society in Taiwan to take the incident seriously and create a rational atmosphere for cross-Strait exchanges and dialogue.

The party said the incident should not be used to escalate cross-Strait tension, or allow external forces to manipulate the situation toward conflict.