Family members of mainland fishermen to go to Kinmen after fatal expulsion incident

BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Family members of fishermen on a mainland fishing boat will go to Kinmen on Tuesday after Taiwan's expulsion of the boat led to two deaths on Feb. 14, a mainland spokesperson said Monday.

The boat from the eastern Fujian Province was expelled in the waters of Kinmen area, which led to all four aboard falling into the sea, two of whom died.

Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, urged relevant authorities in Taiwan to provide convenience to the fishermen's family members regarding their trip to Kinmen and take their concerns seriously.

The family members, along with staff members from the Red Cross Society of China branch in Fujian's port city of Quanzhou, will accompany the two surviving fishermen back to the mainland and deal with follow-up affairs of the incident, Zhu said.

She stressed that relevant authorities in Taiwan should avoid further harming the feelings of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.