President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday reiterated her determination to join the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in the second round of negotiations, but remained silent on speculation that her administration’s approval of Representative to the US Shen Lyu-shun’s (沈呂巡) resignation was due to a plan to make a transit stop in the US on her visit to Panama next month.
Tsai made the remarks at a meeting with US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific chairman Matt Salmon and US Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson at the Presidential Office Building yesterday morning.
“Trade ties between our two nations have been extremely close. Taiwan was listed as the US’ ninth-biggest trading partner last year, while Washington was Taipei’s second-largest trading partner,” Tsai said.
The government plans to seek membership in the TPP in the second round of negotiations, Tsai said, asking for the support of members of the US Congress.
Taiwan has repeatedly expressed its desire to enter the TPP, but the nation’s reluctance to open its door to imports of US pork containing residue of the leanness-enhancing additive ractopamine has raised doubts about its determination to ease import restrictions.
Tsai’s administration has been perceived as leaning toward easing the import ban, particularly after Minister of Agriculture Tsao Chi-hung’s (曹啟鴻) remarks last month that Taiwan does not have the leverage to refuse imports of US pork containing ractopamine.
Earlier yesterday, when on her way to cast a ballot in New Taipei City in an election for the cadres of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) local branches, Tsai declined to respond to questions regarding the reasons behind what some consider was the swift approval of Shen’s resignation.
It is reported that the move was prompted by Tsai’s alleged plan to make transit stops in Miami and Los Angles during her trip to Panama, which has invited her to attend the inauguration ceremony for the expanded Panama Canal next month.
According to a news release issued by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US on Saturday, Shen on April 15 tendered his resignation and applied for retirement as the scheduled government transition approached, but then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) did not approve his resignation.
“Shen originally thought there would be ample time left for him to bid a proper farewell to his associates after the new government approved his resignation, but he was ordered to leave his post early next month,” the office said.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Eleanor Wang (王珮玲) yesterday said that as the upcoming ceremony is an important event held by one of Taiwan’s most significant diplomatic allies, the ministry suggested that Tsai accept the invitation.
“Once the ministry receives instructions from the president, we make an all-out effort to lay out and execute plans for her international trips,” Wang said, adding that the planning process would not start without the president’s orders.
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
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