In the advent of the completion of a series of major national development schemes in China, which are to be finalized before 2010, the Republic of China should endeavor to formulate a cohesive national identity and change its official name to Taiwan, a Japanese expert in international relations said yesterday.
Mineo Nakajima, former superintendent of the Tokyo Foreign Language University and a prominent scholar in international affairs, said: "Taiwan should exploit the opportunity to formulate a cohesive national identity and rectify its name before China reaches the peak of its national strength by hosting the 2008 Olympic Games, completing construction of the Three Gorges Dam in 2009, and holding the World Exposition in 2010."
Invited by Taiwan Advocates, a think-tank founded by former President Lee Teng-hui (
Nakajima said, "it will be best for Taiwan to change its name and complete the process of pursuing a national identity before 2010, as China would be preoccupied with its national development plans until then -- which would not allow it to use force against Taiwan.
"The international community would focus its attention on the robust development of China at this time and it would prevent China from attacking Taiwan. Meanwhile, growing internal problems in Chinese society, including the increasing disparity between rich and poor, the deterioration of its ecological situation and its economic jitters would also take full effect by then. Solving these problems would preoccupy China, so it would not invade Taiwan," Nakajima said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it