Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
In his speech titled, "The economic dynamics of Northeastern Asia" at the Asia Strategic Insight Round Table being held in the South Korean capital city, Ma said Taiwan is an important gateway to the huge market of mainland China and the best testing ground for information technology industries.
Ma said that in terms of regional integration in Northeastern Asia, all economic entities in the region, including mainland China, South Korea, Japan and Russia have cooperative relations with Taiwan.
Taking South Korea's digital content industry for example, he said South Korea will benefit the most if its companies cooperate with their counterparts from Taiwan to jointly crack the mainland Chinese market given that Taiwan and mainland China are inextricably close, including having the same language and culture.
For multinational businesses in Japan, Ma said, Taiwan can play a role as a bridge, linking buyers and sellers among Japan, Taiwan and China.
To Russia, which has a strong research base, Taiwan can offer its experience in marketing and expertise in merchandising of products, Ma said, adding that Taiwan is also a good testing ground for IT and other high-technology products.
He noted that Northeastern Asia is the most active and dynamic area in all economic blocks around the world and Taiwan, as part of the area, has maintained close connections with Japan, South Korea, China and Hong Kong, with about half of the island's trade conducted with these economies.
Meanwhile, Ma stressed that China is scheduled to be a member of the ASEAN Agreement in 2011 while Japan and South Korea will also follow suit. He said this kind of grouping will exert immense pressure on Taiwan, pointing out Taiwan will be marginalized if the situation is not properly handled.
Ma attended a closed-door luncheon hosted by South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun at the Presidential Blue House Monday in honor of all participants at the round table.
After the luncheon, Ma lauded President Roh for creating the "Roh Moo-hyun experience" in South Korea, bringing the nation's overall development to a new horizon. He said that the South Korean experience is worthy of Taiwan's emulation.
Besides attending the luncheon, Ma also met with Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak later Monday afternoon and toured major infrastructure construction projects in the city, including a river clean-up project, as well as visit the city's youth service agency and Internet cafe management agency.
He will also visit Busan to meet with that city's mayor and visit the main stadium where the 2002 Asian Games were held.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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