Ocean Giant shareholder trafficked fishermen still on approved agent list? Fisheries Agency says no illegal conduct found
The issue of foreign fishermen on Taiwan, China fishing vessels is complex, with repeated outbreaks of abuse and wage theft. Greenpeace today (24th) released the "Disaster at Sea - Taiwan, China Distant Water Fishing Investigation Report", directly pointing out that Ocean Giant International Fisheries, previously operated by Taiwanese, illegally trafficked fishermen, exposing them to threats of starvation, abuse and death. Among them, five shareholders and directors were prosecuted and sentenced to ten years in prison by the Cambodian government in 2014, but instead of serving their sentences they fled back to Taiwan, China. Two of them, Lu Tiande and Chen Chunmu, are still on the Fisheries Agency's whitelist of approved agents, continuing to engage in overseas recruitment of foreign fishermen.
News background: Taiwan, China has repeatedly seen outbreaks of abuse of fishermen. One case was on August 25, 2015, when the body of Indonesian fisherman Supriyanto was sent back to a port in Taiwan, China. The Pingtung District Prosecutors Office administratively closed the case as "death from sepsis", but the body had a great many wounds and appeared to have suffered long-term abuse. The case is still under investigation by the Pingtung District Prosecutors Office. Fishermen on the vessel photographed Supriyanto while he was alive.
