Shooting is shocking

China is justified in lodging a protest and expressing its strong indignation to South Korea, after a Chinese fisherman was killed by a rubber bullet fired by a South Korean Coast Guard officer during a raid on a Chinese fishing boat on Tuesday.

It has asked Seoul to make a serious and thorough investigation and to make sure that its coast guard officers enforce the law in a civilized manner.

Skirmishes between Chinese fishermen and South Korean Coast Guard officers have become increasingly frequent and serious recently due to the uncivilized law enforcement methods used by the South Korean officers.

China always demands that its fishermen carry out their activities in the Yellow Sea according to its fishery agreement with South Korea. To promote the sound development of bilateral fishery cooperation and maintain a peaceful environment for fishermen from both sides to operate in the waters, Seoul should rein in its fishery law enforcers and protect the legal rights of Chinese fishermen.

The law enforcement authorities from both countries should communicate and cooperate more closely in a timely manner to prevent such incidents from happening again.

In another development, a 16-year-old Chinese national was killed and more than 90 Chinese miners were arrested by Ghanaian authorities during an investigation into illegal gold mining by foreigners on Sunday.

China has asked the West African country to thoroughly investigate the case and bring the perpetrators to justice, and asked it to take measures to protect the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese nationals on its soil. The Ghanaian government has promised to handle the case in accordance with law.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has also called on Chinese citizens in Ghana to abide by all local laws and regulations. This is a necessary reminder, and a similar request should also apply to all our nationals living or working on foreign soil.

At the same time, the number of Chinese people encountering misfortune overseas has been on the rise in recent years - statistics indicate the Foreign Ministry handles more than 30,000 cases concerning consular protection on average each year - so Chinese people should raise their awareness of self-protection and enhance their capabilities to avoid various kinds of security risks when traveling or working abroad.

(China Daily 10/18/2012 page8)