After three months of give and take, there has finally been closure regarding the fatal shooting by Philippine coastguard personnel of Hong Shi-cheng, a crewmember of the Taiwan fishing boat Guang Da Xing No. 28. Following the release of the reports of each side’s judicial investigation, Amadeo R. Perez Jr., acting as a personal representative of the president of the Philippines, apologized to the victim’s family.

On August 9, ROC premier ­Jiang Yi-huah announced that Taiwan would rescind the 11 economic sanctions imposed on the Philippines. President Ma Ying-jeou wrote on Facebook that during the negotiating process Taiwan maintained a rational attitude and a consistent stance, and took firm measures, and that as a result the four solemn requests that the ROC government made of the Philippines have all been met with concrete, positive responses. Ma added that he was gratified to be able to say that the ROC government had fulfilled its promises to the Hong family.

Following the activation of the judicial mutual assistance agreement, on August 7 the ministries of justice of the two countries announced the results of their investigations.

Based on the evidence, the Pingtung District Prosecutors Office concluded that on the day of the incident, the commander of the Philippine coastguard vessel ordered his crew to pursue and fire on the Guang Da Xing. They fired 108 rounds over 75 minutes, hitting the Guang Da Xing 45 times and killing Hong Shi-cheng. Under ROC law, this constitutes culpable homicide.

The Philippine report likewise suggested to prosecutors of that country that the perpetrators be charged with homicide. It also advised that the coastguard personnel who altered videotape of the incident should be charged with obstruction of justice. ROC deputy minister of justice Chen Ming-tang said that the conclusions and criminal charges of the Philippine investigation are “largely consistent” with Taiwan’s. If the Philippines charges the perpetrators under Article 248 of their penal code, the maximum penalty would be 20 years’ imprisonment.

Amadeo R. Perez Jr., chairman of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, acting as personal representative of Philippine president Benigno S. Aquino III, brought an open letter to the Hong family that expressed “deep apologies and regrets from the president and people of the Philippines.” The letter also promised that the Philippines would never again use armed force to deal with fisheries disputes, and that the perpetrators would be punished under the law.

Lawyers for the two sides have already reached a settlement on compensation. This is the first case, after many years during which Taiwan fishermen have been killed or been victims of extortion, in which there has been compensation for loss of life, for mental anguish, and for damage to a fishing vessel. It is the first time that justice has been done, setting an important precedent.

“The government did everything possible to get justice for Hong Shi-cheng and uphold our country’s position and dignity. We worked hard to gain support from the international community, and repeatedly called on the government of the Philippines to take responsibility for the incident,” stated ROC foreign minister David Y. L. Lin. “Meanwhile the people of Taiwan behaved in a very rational and friendly manner toward all the Filipinos living and working in Taiwan.” Especially noteworthy is that in late July the ROC Coast Guard cutter Wei Xing rescued three Filipino fishermen in waters south of Taiwan and returned them to the Philippines, showing a humanitarian spirit. The cumulative impact of everything done by the Taiwan side finally prompted the Philippines to concretely respond to our side’s requests.

The closure of the Guang Da Xing case brought to an end a nearly three-month freeze on applications for Philippine laborers to come and work in Taiwan, which had affected over 14,000 applicants. The temporary “red travel advisory” issued by the government of Taiwan to discourage tourism to the Philippines was also lifted. For the first half of 2013, the number of visitors from Taiwan to the Philippines fell by over 27,000 people, or 25%. It is estimated that the tourism industry in the two countries suffered combined losses of nearly NT$1.5 billion. Meanwhile, the Philippines is Taiwan’s seventh largest export market. Now that sanctions have been lifted, the two countries can resume normal economic and trade relations.

In addition, the ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Amadeo Perez Jr. reached a four-point consensus, in which the Philippine side agreed not only to three matters related directly to the Guang Da Xing case—to refrain from using armed force in the future, to complete the prosecution process as quickly as possible, and to severely punish those implicated in the case—but also to start up the next stage of fisheries negotiations and to promote economic and trade cooperation.

For the future, it is important that fisheries, economic, and trade negotiations between Taiwan and the Philippines become more systematic. Only if disputes are resolved rationally and peacefully can the two sides deepen substantive cooperation and exchanges.