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TAIPEI- MANILA ROW:
Daughter impresses in face of adversity
By Tsai Chung-hsien and Jason Pan / Staff Reporter, with Staff
Writer
Hung Tzu-chien, the eldest
daughter of Hung Shih-cheng, the Taiwanese fisherman who was killed by the
Philippine Coast Guard on May 9 speaks during an interview in Pingtung County on
Thursday.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
Among the major topics of discussion
following the fatal shooting of Taiwanese fisherman Hung shih-cheng (¬x¥Û¦¨) has
been the demeanor of his eldest daughter, Hung Tzu-chien (¬x·Oãf), whose clear
articulation has cut to the heart of the issue during media interviews.
¡§My father¡¦s death is now a fact. I just hope the government will wake up, so
that all Taiwanese fishermen can receive proper protection,¡¨ she said.
Hung Tzu-chien, 44, is a math teacher working in a cram school in Greater
Kaohsiung.
Observers attribute her impressive speaking skills to having to deal with the
exacting demands of students¡¦ parents.
Following her father¡¦s death, she returned to her hometown of Siaoliouciou
(¤p¯[²y), an island in Pingtung County, to help organize funeral arrangements.
Having graduated from Pingtung Girls¡¦ Senior High School in Pingtung City and
Cheng Shiu University in Greater Kaohsiung, her intellectual prowess is
respected by her peers in Siaoliouciou.
Hung Tzu-chien said she decided to face the public and speak out for the local
community not only because of the death of her father, but because of the
long-standing harassment of Siaoliouciou¡¦s fishermen.
¡§My moral principles to seek justice and passion to help those in need are
characteristics I inherited from my father. I just hope his sacrifice will not
be in vain,¡¨ she said.
She said her father was always out at sea fishing, so he rarely had time to
spend with his family.
¡§On one occasion I was on the way home from elementary school and was caught in
a downpour. I ran quickly and saw my father come running for me with an
umbrella. That scene kept cropping up in my mind as I received my father¡¦s
corpse [after the boat was towed back to Pingtung on May 11,]¡¨ she said, adding
that she was ¡§determined to turn my father¡¦s death into a cause to fight for the
rights of all fishermen in Taiwan, to wake up the government, which has always
neglected their long-standing predicament.¡¨
¡§Has the Fisheries Agency done anything for the hard-working fishermen of our
country?¡¨ she asked. ¡§Our fishermen have been bullied and trampled on for more
than 30 years. How could local fishermen¡¦s associations and the government¡¦s
Fisheries Agency not know anything about it for all these years?¡¨
She said she hopes that when the current Taiwan-Philippines row is resolved, the
government will undertake a comprehensive examination of the nation¡¦s fishery
rights.
In response to praise for her resolve and outspokenness in the face of
misfortune, she remains modest.
Hung Tzu-chien said she is as strong and courageous as all Taiwanese fishermen,
and she was expressing their feelings to the government.
¡§I do not want the government to start a war, but just to show real guts and
determination,¡¨ she said.
¡§We must not let the Philippine government sweep the whole thing under the
carpet. If this happens, Taiwan¡¦s national dignity would be eroded,¡¨ she said.
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