The remains of four mainland women, who were killed by Taiwanese human smugglers, will be brought back home by their family members on Friday, according to the Red Cross Society of China.

Li Lidong, head of the Division of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs with the Red Cross, said the bodies of the four women will be cremated tomorrow on the island, more than three weeks after their deaths.

Accompanied by Li, a total of seven family members and relatives of the four smuggled women arrived at Taipei's Taoyuan Airport late last night via Hong Kong to deal with the repercussions of the affair.

In a telephone interview with China Daily, Li expressed his hope for co-operation from related Taiwanese departments to facilitate arrangements for their families.

The four women -- Wang Li, Zeng Xiaoli, Xu Ying and Jiang Min -- were drowned along with two others on August 26 after a total of 26 mainland women were thrown into the sea by Taiwanese smugglers near Tunghsiao on Taiwan's west coast.

The two other women who died have yet to be identified although Taiwanese authorities collected DNA samples from their bodies for study.

(China Daily September 17, 2003)