Chinese mainland urges early release of fishermen detained by Taiwan

A Taiwan patrol detains several fishermen from Guangdong Province on May 6, 2017. [Photo: huanqiu.com]

The Chinese mainland on Saturday urged Taiwan to investigate and deal strictly with an incident in which two mainlanders were injured after a Taiwan patrol ship fired a warning shot, said An Fengshan, spokesman for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing.

A fishing boat from Guangdong Province was seized Saturday morning by a Taiwan patrol in waters near Penghu county in southeast Taiwan, Xinhua news agency reported.  

A total of seven crew members were on board the ship. Two were injured by rubber bullets fired from the patrol boat, and required hospital treatment. Their condition was described as stable. The other five were under arrest.

The Chinese mainland has  asked Taiwan to release the arrested people and the detained fishing boat as soon as possible.