The Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation (TTL) may have to go on the wagon in China, given official reluctance to open the market to Taiwan Beer.
The re-election of President Chen Shui-bian (
According to Huang, China was slated to approve the branding of Taiwan Beer last March, but the matter has yet to be acted upon.
The TTL has completed all necessary legal arrangements for the beer to be launched in the mainland, and Huang said that he only hopes that mainland China will abide by the World Trade Organization's rule of "national treatment" to open its market to Taiwan Beer.
Under the current conditions, the TTL is considering canceling a sales promotion for Taiwan Beer planned for September in Beijing, Huang said
He added that sponsoring such activities will be meaningless if the beer cannot be marketed in the mainland.
The TTL is also likely to file a protest with the WTO should the mainland fail to comply by the world trade regulatory body's "national treatment" rule, he added.
A total of 18 products manufactured by the TTL won gold prizes in a world liquor competition held last week in Belgium, while the TTL was also rewarded with a special award as an "excellent company." Taiwan Beer, one of the TTL's much-acclaimed products, enjoys an 80 percent market share in Taiwan.
Despite the fact that Taiwan Beer's mainland landing plan has been boycotted, Long Life cigarettes, a distinguished brand of TTL's tobacco goods, is expected to hit the mainland market in the near future as it has gained official registration from mainland authorities, Huang said.
The cigarettes are scheduled to be marketed in October in the mainland, with an approved amount of 30,000 packs per year in the initial stage, he said.
It is understood that the new setback arises from Beijing's policy changes toward Taiwan out of political motivations in the wake of the presidential election.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
RSS