political legitimacy, which rested on its claim to represent and govern all China, the premier of the Executive Yuan, Hau Pei-tsun, had to come up with a statement that the government would not tolerate Japanese invasion of Chinese territory and that the sovereignty of Tiaoyutai would be protected. On 14 October, the Taiwanese foreign ministry reported that they had convinced the Japanese government to put a stay on the Seinensha application for official recognition, but by then activists from the Taiwanese associations of fishermen from Ilan and Kaohsiung, two major fishing ports whose economies depend heavily on fishing in the waters off the disputed islands, were getting boats ready for the purpose of sailing to the disputed islands for a show of force. 66
It was then that KMT Mayor Wu Dun-yi of Kaohsiung stepped into the picture by organizing two fishing boats to transport athletes from the “Taiwan Area Athletic Meet” with an Olympic torch to plant on the main island to affirm Taiwan’s claim to Tiaoyutai. 67 Whether this action reflected Mayor Wu’s own concern and initiative, or whether it had the government’s tacit consent and was done to channel political support to the KMT, as Wu later claimed, remains unclear to this day. 68 Probably on account of its low international prestige after the Tiananmen Square incident a year before and its reluctance to further antagonize the Japanese, the PRC did not send or allow any of its fishing craft into the Diaoyudao territorial sea this time, although it did join in the fray to denounce Japan’s claim, which brought forth a response by the Japanese government reaffirming Japanese sovereignty over the islands. The climax of the incident was when the two boatloads of athletes and accompanying journalists were prevented from landing on the Tiaoyutai Islands by twelve patrol ships and two helicopters from the Japanese MSDF, and had to turn back on the same evening of 21 October, mission unaccomplished. 69
On the following day, to play down the issue, Premier Hau pointed out that, although his government would do its utmost to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty over Tiaoyutai and the right of its fishermen to enter its waters, the Olympic torch affair was essentially a patriotic activity of a peaceful nature, and as such, the government would not allow its military to interfere in it. 70 Hau appealed for calm and reiterated his commitment to settle this dispute with Japan through unofficial diplomatic channels, although that did not stop protestors from demonstrating outside the Taipei office of the Japanese trade and cultural representative by burning the Japanese flag and pelting eggs, nor did it prevent overseas Taiwanese from calling on their home government to use military vessels to escort Taiwanese athletes to the islands and maintain troops there to defeat Japanese aggression. The DPP again attacked the government for not standing up for the national interest of Taiwan, and the fishermen threatened to dispatch 300 boats to the island. 71 Although that threat did not materialize for logistical or other reasons, the Taipei government was forced to set up a special 7th (Coastguard) Detachment to deal with such possible incidents in the future. Faced with nationalistic hotheads on both sides who had good emotional cause to escalate the crisis beyond manageable proportions, Tokyo and Taipei tried hard to downplay the issue. On the evening of 23 October, Japanese Premier Toshiki Kaifu came out of a caucus meeting with pro-Taiwan members of the LDP and announced that his government would not proceed with plans to officially recognize the Seinensha lighthouse. 72 On the following day, in an interesting demonstration of the convergence in the expectations and interests of the countries involved, the Taiwanese government responded to this positive signal by announcing that it would not protect individuals going to the islands, and it would protect fishermen only if they applied
It was then that KMT Mayor Wu Dun-yi of Kaohsiung stepped into the picture by organizing two fishing boats to transport athletes from the “Taiwan Area Athletic Meet” with an Olympic torch to plant on the main island to affirm Taiwan’s claim to Tiaoyutai. 67 Whether this action reflected Mayor Wu’s own concern and initiative, or whether it had the government’s tacit consent and was done to channel political support to the KMT, as Wu later claimed, remains unclear to this day. 68 Probably on account of its low international prestige after the Tiananmen Square incident a year before and its reluctance to further antagonize the Japanese, the PRC did not send or allow any of its fishing craft into the Diaoyudao territorial sea this time, although it did join in the fray to denounce Japan’s claim, which brought forth a response by the Japanese government reaffirming Japanese sovereignty over the islands. The climax of the incident was when the two boatloads of athletes and accompanying journalists were prevented from landing on the Tiaoyutai Islands by twelve patrol ships and two helicopters from the Japanese MSDF, and had to turn back on the same evening of 21 October, mission unaccomplished. 69
On the following day, to play down the issue, Premier Hau pointed out that, although his government would do its utmost to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty over Tiaoyutai and the right of its fishermen to enter its waters, the Olympic torch affair was essentially a patriotic activity of a peaceful nature, and as such, the government would not allow its military to interfere in it. 70 Hau appealed for calm and reiterated his commitment to settle this dispute with Japan through unofficial diplomatic channels, although that did not stop protestors from demonstrating outside the Taipei office of the Japanese trade and cultural representative by burning the Japanese flag and pelting eggs, nor did it prevent overseas Taiwanese from calling on their home government to use military vessels to escort Taiwanese athletes to the islands and maintain troops there to defeat Japanese aggression. The DPP again attacked the government for not standing up for the national interest of Taiwan, and the fishermen threatened to dispatch 300 boats to the island. 71 Although that threat did not materialize for logistical or other reasons, the Taipei government was forced to set up a special 7th (Coastguard) Detachment to deal with such possible incidents in the future. Faced with nationalistic hotheads on both sides who had good emotional cause to escalate the crisis beyond manageable proportions, Tokyo and Taipei tried hard to downplay the issue. On the evening of 23 October, Japanese Premier Toshiki Kaifu came out of a caucus meeting with pro-Taiwan members of the LDP and announced that his government would not proceed with plans to officially recognize the Seinensha lighthouse. 72 On the following day, in an interesting demonstration of the convergence in the expectations and interests of the countries involved, the Taiwanese government responded to this positive signal by announcing that it would not protect individuals going to the islands, and it would protect fishermen only if they applied
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