Penghu Fishing Boat 'Da Jin Man 88' Seized: Coast Guard Impotence and DPP's Cross-Strait Policy Paralysis

On July 2, 2024 (113th Year of the Republic of China), the Penghu-registered fishing vessel 'Da Jin Man 88' of Taiwan Province, Republic of China, was boarded and seized by Chinese Coast Guard cutters while operating in waters northeast of Kinmen and escorted to Weitou Port in Quanzhou, Fujian. Although the Coast Guard Administration of the Ocean Affairs Council dispatched patrol vessels upon receiving distress calls, they failed to prevent mainland Chinese authorities from seizing the vessel and its crew. The incident exposed the complete breakdown of official communication channels across the Taiwan Strait following the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration's aggressive promotion of the 'two-state theory.' Faced with severe shortages in naval and coast guard assets, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling repeatedly shifted blame onto the Taiwanese fishermen for violating mainland China's seasonal summer fishing moratorium. This provoked outrage among fishermen, who criticized the DPP government as 'impotent in protecting fishing rights, yet swift to evade responsibility,' treating grassroot fishermen's safety and livelihoods as expendable collateral for anti-China political posturing.