The mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) yesterday wrote to its Taiwanese counterpart, asking for help in getting further information about the deaths of six mainland women that were being smuggled to the island.

The association asked the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) to help provide lists and more information about the women, who drowned after being thrown into the sea by their Taiwanese traffickers in human lives early on Tuesday.

In the one-page letter, ARATS also said the mainland wants any possible clues to the case so that any mainland operatives involved in the case can be arrested at the earliest date possible.

ARATS and SEF are the two quasi-official organizations in charge of cross-Straits ties in the absence of any official links between Beijing and Taipei.

ARATS has been designated to deal with the incident, in which 26 mainland women were dumped overboard by people smugglers on the island's west coast.

Six of the women died and the other 20 were later rescued, according to latest media reports.

An unidentified official with ARATS yesterday said his association had notified the families of the survivors of their condition.

Meanwhile, the Red Cross Society of China is in touch with its Taiwanese counterpart to arrange the repatriation of the 20 survivors, according to the official.

(China Daily August 30, 2003)