Taiwan urged to respond to demands of drowned women's relatives
( 2003-09-18 14:21) (Xinhua)
An official with the mainland-based Red Cross Society of China Wednesday urged the Taiwan authorities to meet the demands of the relatives of six drowned immigrants from China's mainland.
Li Lidong,who is here accompanying the heartbroken relatives to Taiwan, said the appeals of the relatives center on three aspects: going to Taiwan to handle issues arising from the tragedy;asking the Taiwan authorities to severely punish the culprits and prevent such matters from happening again; and seeking proper compensation.
"We hope all these demands will be met," said Li.
He said the mainland-based Red Cross Society has asked the Red Cross organization in Taiwan to repatriate the 20 survivors as soon as possible.
Twenty-six mainland women boarded two Taiwan speedboats bound for Taiwan on the morning of Aug. 26, traveling with snakeheads. While trying to evade Taiwan coast guard patrols, the human smugglers pushed the women into the sea, leading to the death of six women and injury of two.
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