Beijing closely watching Taiwan's trial of human traffickers
( 2003-11-12 21:25) (Xinhua)
The Chinese mainland is
highly concerned about the outcome of Taiwan's trial of four human smugglers
charged with drowning six mainland illegal immigrants, said Li Weiyi, spokesman
with the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council on Wednesday.
Speaking at a press conference, Li said the mainland side expects the Taiwan
authorities to severely punish the "snakeheads" - human traffickers - for their
crimes and compensate the bereaved families.
The Taiwan authorities should also repatriate the 20 survivors back to the
mainland as soon as possible, said the spokesman.
The spokesman made the remarks after the court debate of the trial in Taiwan
had ended.
The four Taiwanese men being tried attempted to smuggle 26 women from the
Chinese mainland into Taiwan island on two speedboats on Aug. 26. They threw the
women overboard when chased by the Taiwan coast guard, leaving six drowned. The
incident has aroused keen concern from both sides of the Taiwan Straits.
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