47 hostages believed to be alive and well amid standoff in Somalia

This article was written by Chen Ting and published by the Taiwan Journal on September 9, 2005.

Three Taiwanese fishing vessels were seized and their crews taken hostage by Somali pirates on August 16. The hostages include the three Taiwanese captains, 14 Indonesians, 14 Chinese, 12 Filipinos and 4 Vietnamese fishermen. The pirates are anti-government rebels and members of Somalia's Marehan subclan.

On September 4, Somali officials, the U.N. human rights representatives in Somalia, the Malaysian agent for the Taiwan vessels and the pirates reached an agreement to lower the ransom demand for each vessel from US$500,000 to between US$50,000 and US$100,000. It is reported that the pirates promised not to harm the hostages if the ransom is paid, while the Somali government agreed to exempt the pirates from the death penalty.