President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday praised Beijing for the “goodwill” it has shown in improving cross-strait relations, citing the World Games in Kaohsiung as an example.
Ma said the fact that International World Games Association (IWGA) president Ron Froehlich twice referred to him as president of the Republic of China (ROC) during the opening ceremony was a clear indication that Taiwan has received more respect in international events.
“It mainly results from the support of our friends in the international community and ameliorated cross-strait relations,” he said. “The mainland has indeed extended goodwill to us and it is a fact that we cannot deny.”
Ma made the remarks while campaigning for his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmanship election bid in Taitung County yesterday.
In his speech, Ma did not mention that the Chinese team refused to attend the opening ceremony. Local media speculated that the Chinese delegation boycotted the opening ceremony to avoid giving the impression that Beijing recognizes Ma’s status as president or Taiwan’s status as a sovereign state.
Meanwhile, in a weekly video address made available yesterday — a remake, after its original July 25 version was found by an Internet user last week to have been pre-recorded — Ma said that opening the World Games in his capacity as president was a “breakthrough.”
Ma said it showed his administration has moved closer to his proposed goal of “mutual non-denial” between Taipei and Beijing, he said.
He also explained why he did not refer to himself as the president at the opening ceremony.
On the night of the opening ceremony, Ma, following Froehlich’s introduction as president of the ROC, took the podium and said: “Ladies and gentlemen, I now declare open the eighth edition of the World Games in Kaohsiung 2009.”
Ma said in the video that since Froehlich referred to him twice as president of the ROC while the master of ceremony did once, if he were to say it again, it would have sounded “intentional.”
“I think it is best and more meaningful for others to introduce me as president of the Republic of China, especially the IWGA president,” he said.
Whether Ma would attend the event as the nation’s leader was contentious from the beginning. The IWGA initially rejected the Kaohsiung City Government’s request that Ma preside over the opening ceremony.
Following further negotiations, the IWGA agreed to Ma’s attendance in his capacity as ROC president.
Ma said in the video that he was very moved when singing the ROC’s National Banner Song (國旗歌) in front of 40,000 people and 105 athletes from around the world.
The president thanked Democratic Progressive Party Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), her predecessor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and government sports heads for their efforts to make the event possible.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS