Telecommunications ministers from both sides of the Taiwan Strait exchanged greetings on Thursday at a ministerial-level meeting on telecommunications under the framework of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
Taiwan's Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Chu-lan (
Yeh, the first Cabinet member to attend an international meeting since the new government was inaugurated last Saturday, said she hopes to convey Taiwan's goodwill and friendship to China through a handshake and greeting with her Beijing counterpart.
"At first, he [Wu Jichuan] was a little bit afraid of me," she said "but how can he reject a confident, friendly handshake?"
The DPP's Yeh said she is willing to explore every possible cooperative opportunity with China on an "equal, reciprocal" basis.
She also promised that the new government will try its best to narrow the gap between the poor and rich widened by the development of the information industry.
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has repeatedly reaffirmed his commitment to promoting the opening of direct trade, communications and transportation links across the Taiwan Strait, commonly known as the "three links" (
As a direct communications link does not involve exchanges of personnel, many people believe that direct cross-strait postal and telecommunications services can be implemented first. Commenting on the proposal, Yeh said national security should be ensured while tackling a problem as critical as the "three links" issue.
The legislator-turned-minister further said the two sides of the Taiwan Strait must negotiate many technical problems before direct cross-strait communications and transportation services can be opened.
Asked about China's stance on the "three links" issue, the Chinese information and telecommunication minister said opening the "three links" was first promoted by China.
"We hope cross-strait telephone, Internet and e-mail services can be conducted directly," Wu said, adding that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have wasted a lot of money under the current indirect arrangements.
Noting that the development of telecommunication business has long followed the principles of equality, reciprocity and "users pay," Wu said he sees no serious problems for the opening of direct cross-strait communications links.
Wu further said China's Ministry of Information and Telecom Industries has drawn up regulations governing telecommunication services in preparation for opening its telecom market to foreign investment.
If all goes well, Wu said, the new regulations will be put into force this summer. "By then, Taiwan companies can also invest in our telecom industries," Wu said, adding that investment from Taiwan, Hong Kong and foreign countries will all be subject to the same ceilings set in the new regulations.
APEC, a 21-member regional trade and economic cooperation forum, is one of the few international organizations which accommodate both Taipei and Beijing as full members.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft