The Republic of China (ROC) cannot afford to be absent from negotiations on disputes surrounding the South China Sea, because the nation has an important role to play in the region, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday.
Ma made the remarks at the opening ceremony of an exhibition of historical material on the nation’s South China Sea territories, but he did not mention what he would do to overcome Taiwan’s exclusion from multilateral talks regarding South China Sea issues.
“We, on the one hand, are bound to defend the sovereignty of the nation over the region; and on the other hand, we have to seek solutions to [competing] sovereignty claims,” Ma said.
When it comes to solving problems in the South China Sea, it is important that concerned parties try to reduce tensions, rather than engage in head-on clashes like two trains crashing into each other, he said.
Ma reiterated his desire that his East China Sea peace initiative be applied to the South China Sea.
The initiative, which Ma proposed two years ago, urges China and Japan to shelve their territorial disputes over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) — known as the Senkakus in Japan — and focus efforts on developing natural resources in the disputed region.
The exhibit, hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Academia Historica, contains 150 documents and maps as well as more than 300 photographs from government files and from soldiers who have served at South China Sea isles.
The exhibit at the Academia Historica in Taipei runs through Oct. 31. A second exhibit is to open in Greater Kaohsiung on Oct. 9, followed by one in Greater Taichung on Nov. 17.
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
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
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