Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) has apparently canceled a visit to Greater Tainan as part of his upcoming economic trip to parts of southern Taiwan on Wednesday next week for unknown reasons, the municipal government confirmed yesterday.
The head of Beijing’s Association of Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) was set to visit Greater Kaohsiung, Chiayi City and Greater Tainan, but the latter has reportedly been dropped from the itinerary, sources said.
The decision comes amid protest plans by pro-independence groups and Greater Tainan Councilor Wang Ding-yu (王定宇), who was involved in a shoving incident involving ARATS Vice Chairman Zhang Mingqing (張銘清) in October 2008.
A joint statement, signed by Wang and six other councilors, contended that they were not necessarily opposed to the visit, but suggested that it be conducted on a state-to-state basis with the People’s Republic of China flag flown alongside its Republic of China counterpart at venues Chen visits.
Officials, including Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德), have expressed confusion over whether or not Greater Tainan was even included on the original list of cities to be visited.
“We were never told [by the Straits Exchange Foundation] whether he was coming ... but it appears that [Chen] will no longer be making the trip,” he said.
Chen’s trip will be his fourth to Taiwan, but the first time he will visit Democratic Progressive Party-administered municipalities in the south.
Reports suggest that Chen will be accompanied by up to 30 shipping and manufacturing industrialists interested in investing in Taiwan. The group is expected to visit industrial zones, farming associations and the Port of Kaohsiung as part of a six-day trip.
Chen is expected to spend at least one day each in Greater Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, although it is still unclear whether he will meet with Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊).
Protest groups have vowed to tail Chen during his visit, saying that more than 100 protesters are expected at parts of the trip.
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday criticized the nuclear energy referendum scheduled for Saturday next week, saying that holding the plebiscite before the government can conduct safety evaluations is a denial of the public’s right to make informed decisions. Lai, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), made the comments at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting at its headquarters in Taipei. ‘NO’ “I will go to the ballot box on Saturday next week to cast a ‘no’ vote, as we all should do,” he said as he called on the public to reject the proposition to reactivate the decommissioned
TALKS CONTINUE: Although an agreement has not been reached with Washington, lowering the tariff from 32 percent to 20 percent is still progress, the vice premier said Taiwan would strive for a better US tariff rate in negotiations, with the goal being not just lowering the current 20-percent tariff rate, but also securing an exemption from tariff stacking, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said yesterday. Cheng made the remarks at a news conference at the Executive Yuan explaining the new US tariffs and the government’s plans for supporting affected industries. US President Donald Trump on July 31 announced a new tariff rate of 20 percent on Taiwan’s exports to the US starting on Thursday last week, and the Office of Trade Negotiations on Friday confirmed that it
RSS