China Gives Details of Boat Murders
China gave its first detailed account Friday of how 24 Taiwanese tourists were murdered on a pleasure boat March 31, saying they were robbed and then burned to death by three men carrying hunting guns and an ax.
The account carried by the New China News Agency and on national TV news followed charges by Taiwan that the Chinese were trying to cover up the crime.
The case has caused great friction between the rival governments.
The news agency reported that the three, traveling in a motor boat, boarded the tourist boat after dark as it sailed on Qiandao Lake in Zhejiang province. They threatened the crew with weapons before robbing the passengers.
The pirates forced the tourists into the boat’s cabin and then set the craft on fire despite promises not to hurt them. All the Taiwanese tourists and eight mainland Chinese crew were killed, the news agency said.
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