Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤), the nation’s chief negotiator with China, arrived in Nanjing, China, yesterday morning on a mission to seal three agreements and one joint statement with China.
The highlight of Chiang’s visit will be a meeting today with his Chinese counterpart, Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林).
The two sides are expected to sign three agreements on the launch of regular cross-strait passenger flights, financial cooperation and mutual judicial assistance and cross-strait cooperation to fight crime. Any consensus reached on opening Taiwan to Chinese investment would be covered in a joint statement.
PHOTO: CNA
Representatives of the SEF and ARATS held a preparatory meeting yesterday to finalize the text of the agreements and the joint statement.
Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛), who was at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to see off Chiang and his delegation, promised that the SEF’s negotiations with ARATS would be conducted in accordance with the principles of equality and dignity and would uphold the interests of Taiwan and its people.
During the talks, Chiang is also likely to raise a proposal for Taiwan and China to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) as instructed by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) during their meeting on Friday.
Ma has argued that if Taiwan does not sign such an agreement with China, it risks being marginalized and losing its competitiveness because China and neighboring countries are planning to sign free-trade agreements.
Critics, however, warned that the ECFA could jeopardize Taiwan’s sovereignty and make it too economically dependent on China.
Defining the ECFA as an accord about “tariff reduction” and “fair trade,” Lai yesterday said it was essential to normalizing cross-strait trade.
Addressing concerns about the negative impact of the ECFA on local businesses, Lai said in an interview with a radio station in Taichung yesterday that there would be supplementary measures in place and that the government would only open industries that could benefit from and attract Chinese investment.
They will not include industries involved in high-tech development or national security, she said.
A pact on judicial assistance and cooperation to fight crime will allow for the repatriation of Taiwanese fugitives in China to face justice, she said. Of the 85 major Taiwanese economic criminals who have fled to China over the past 10 years, only one has been returned to Taiwan, she said.
Lai said the two sides would also discuss “fifth freedom of the air,” or the right of airlines to operate connecting flights, during the Chiang-Chen meeting, but it would not be the focus of the meeting because of its technical complexity.
Fifth freedom of the air means that an airline can carry passengers from one country to another, and then on to a third country. Beijing has been reluctant to discuss the matter because it touches on the issue of sovereignty.
Also See: Financial deal is ‘ticket’ to Chinese market: FSC head
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
COOPERATION: Taiwan is aligning closely with US strategic objectives on various matters, including China’s rare earths restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan could deal with China’s tightened export controls on rare earth metals by turning to “urban mining,” a researcher said yesterday. Rare earth metals, which are used in semiconductors and other electronic components, could be recovered from industrial or electronic waste to reduce reliance on imports, National Cheng Kung University Department of Resources Engineering professor Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare — their abundance in the Earth’s crust is relatively high, but they are dispersed, making extraction and refining energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, he said, adding that many countries have opted to
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
RSS