The five-day visit of former South Korean president Kim Young-sam to Taipei was clouded with confusion and misunderstanding yesterday. Nevertheless, the improvement of bilateral ties was still the focus of Kim's meeting with President Chen Shui-bian (
Kim cancelled his press conference scheduled for 3:30pm at the Grand Hotel yesterday after his delegation and the Presidential Office failed to map out the final wording of a written statement.
"The Presidential Office intended to insert a few words into our drafted press release while we wanted to keep it as simple as possible," said Kang Myeong-sang, director of the Institute of China Relations at Korea's Kyungnam University and a member of the 17-strong delegation.
"That [referring to the press conference] was only what we had hoped for. Whatever we do must be agreed by your Presidential Office," said Chung Jey-moon, a member of Korea's National Assembly from the Grand Nation Party, another member of the delegation.
The drafted statement urged the resumption of direct air links to take place as soon as possible "in order to enhance substantive ties between the two sides."
In the statement, both sides agreed that working-level negotiations between the two governments should commence in the near future.
Such negotiations would discuss substantive as well as technical matters related to the resumption of direct air links.
Kang and Chung denied a report in yesterday's Liberty Times that claimed that former president Lee Teng-hui (
"We haven't contacted him and he hasn't contacted us," said Chung. "We'd like to pay a visit but there is no arrangement."
Seoul severed ties with Taipei in August 1992 under then-president Roh Tae-woo as part of its policy to move closer to Beijing and Moscow so as to gain an upper hand in its relations with Pyongyang.
Eugune Chien (簡又新), deputy secretary-general to the president, also denied a Liberty Times report which alleged that Kim "apologized" to Chen for what he saw as the improper process leading up the severance of ties between the two countries.
Kim met Chen for a second round of bilateral talks yesterday morning, which was followed by a lunch banquet hosted by Chen at the Taipei Guest House. Kim met Chen four times during the past two days.
During the meeting yesterday morning, Chen reportedly said it was "brave" of Kim to visit Taiwan because of pressure from China.
Chung confirmed that Kim had sent prior notice to China's embassy in Seoul about his planned visit to Taipei.
The enhancement of bilateral ties included the restoration of annual meetings between economics ministers from the two sides, to "fight against pressure from China to some extent," as well as the improvement of economic ties, Chen said.
Chen also reiterated that three conditions must be met before direct air links can be resumed, sources said.
Taipei would accept the restoration of air links if Taiwan's "national dignity" is respected, and if "substantial benefits" and "parity" are guaranteed to both sides, Chen said.
Chen made clear the three conditions for the first time during his initial meeting with Kim on Thursday.
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
SOUTH CHINA SEA? The Philippine president spoke of adding more classrooms and power plants, while skipping tensions with China over disputed areas Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday blasted “useless and crumbling” flood control projects in a state of the nation address that focused on domestic issues after a months-long feud with his vice president. Addressing a joint session of congress after days of rain that left at least 31 dead, Marcos repeated his recent warning that the nation faced a climate change-driven “new normal,” while pledging to investigate publicly funded projects that had failed. “Let’s not pretend, the people know that these projects can breed corruption. Kickbacks ... for the boys,” he said, citing houses that were “swept away” by the floods. “Someone has
RSS