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.
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today. Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk. Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor