Mainland Xinhua: Taiwan's conclusion on February fishing boat incident unacceptable

BEIJING, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) — The mainland will not accept the conclusion reached by Taiwan authorities following the investigation into a fatal fishing boat accident in February this year, a mainland spokesman said Friday.

Their conclusion ignores the facts and shifts responsibility, said Zhu Fenglian, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, in response to a media inquiry about the result of the investigation, which the Taiwanese side released on Friday.

On February 14, a fishing boat from the mainland was pursued and rammed by a Taiwanese patrol vessel, causing all four fishermen on board to fall into the sea and two of them to die.

Zhu called on the Taiwanese side to reveal the truth, severely punish those responsible for the incident and ensure that such an incident does not happen again.

The bodies of the two fishermen killed in the incident were returned to the mainland in July. ■