Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday called a Kaohsiung official’s attendance at a ceremony on Tuesday to launch a maritime route between the city and China’s Wenzhou a “farce,” while Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) asked the central government to help investigate the case.
Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau Director Pan Heng-hsu (潘恒旭) was photographed at a ceremony held by Shang Ho Marine Transport (上和海運) to celebrate the purported maiden voyage on a route between Kaohsiung’s Cijin District (旗津) and Wenzhou’s Dongtou.
A banner at the event suggested that the route was part of the “small three links.”
Photo: Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei Times
However, the company disbanded on June 12 and no application had been filed with the Maritime and Port Bureau to establish the route or to use the two ships that allegedly made the maiden voyage.
The Executive Yuan believes that the incident contravened the government’s authority, Su said at a Cabinet meeting in Taipei, adding that it has caused a misunderstanding and might have left a poor public impression.
The Kaohsiung City Government should investigate the incident, he said.
Photo: Huang Chien-hua, Taipei Times
Yeh attended yesterday’s meeting on behalf of the Kaohsiung City Government, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said.
Su told Yeh that he should have understood the relevant legal process, as he previously served as minister of transportation and communications, she said.
Yeh said that if the alleged route was fake, the Ministry of the Interior should help with the investigation, Kolas said.
The ministry has asked the Kaohsiung City Government to conduct a thorough investigation into how a disbanded company took part in the ceremony and where the idea came from, as the possibility of fraud cannot be ruled out, she added.
The ministry has found that the China Dream Promotion Association, which organized the event, in 2014 applied for commercial registration and was granted approval in 2015, Kolas said.
During that period, it did not provide a financial statement or host similar events, she said, adding that Tuesday’s event is the only one it has hosted recently.
The ministry said that it had already sent a letter to the association requesting an explanation of its organization and operations, as well as its financial statements, she said.
Asked whether it was a means of making money, Kolas said that she does not yet know.
Fraud was “one possibility,” Kolas said, adding that the Cabinet is not making any presumptions.
Meanwhile, Taiwan International Ports Corp (TIPC, 台灣港務) said that Shang Ho would not be allowed to operate a “small three links” shipping businesses without first receiving approval from the Maritime Port Bureau.
The ceremony took place at a property administered by the Kaohsiung City Government, not on TIPC property, it said.
Even though Shang Ho had ended its operations and does not own any ships, it had planned to lease two cargo ships — Yenhong (延鴻) and Yongshun No. 2 (永順二號) — to offer shipping services between Kaohsiung and Wenzhou, the TIPC said.
Both are still docked at the Port of Kaohsiung, it added.
Bureau South Maritime Affairs Center Director Yu Chien-hsun (余建勳) said that the “small three links” only include shipping services to China’s Fujian Province from Kinmen or Lienchiang County.
Additional reporting by Ann Maxon
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS