Former South Korean president Kim Young-sam said yesterday he looked forward to seeing enhanced cultural and commercial exchanges between Taiwan and South Korea.
Kim, who is currently on an eight-day visit at the invitation of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), made the remarks while meeting with Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長庭) at city hall.
Despite a cooling-off in Taiwan-South Korea relations following Seoul's switching of diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, which prompted Taipei to cut ties with Seoul in 1992, Kim said friendship between the two countries has gradually regained steam.
"I hope our two countries can continue to expand engagements and cooperation in various fields for mutual benefit," Kim said.
For his part, Hsieh said that throughout history, Taiwan and Korea have been bullied but they never bullied other countries. This similar background had contributed to the friendship between the two countries, Hsieh said.
He added that Kaohsiung had formed sister-city ties with South Korea's second-largest city, Busan, and maintained close exchanges with several other cities.
In the past, Hsieh said, Taiwanese people were not familiar with South Korea but thanks to the popularity of South Korean soap operas, Hsieh said, many Taiwanese people have become fascinated with the country.
Hsieh lauded Kim for his contributions to South Korea's democratic development, calling him South Korea's "Mr. Democracy."
Kim said South Korea had come a long way liberating its people from authoritarian rule and building up a liberal democracy.
"In the pursuit of democracy, I consistently fought against the armed forces with courage, self-confidence and perseverance," he added.
Noting that Taiwan's democratization process has been similar to that of South Korea, Hsieh said he had much to learn from Kim.
Later in the day, Kim toured Kaohsiung Harbor in the company of Deputy Mayor Yao Kao-chiao (姚高橋). Kim said he was impressed by the port facilities and by the harbor's outstanding geographic location and natural conditions that have helped make Kaohsiung into a busy deep-water port.
Kim arrived in Taipei on Monday on his fourth visit to the country.
In the past few days, he has met with Chen and other political heavyweights, as well as delivering a speech at National Chengchi University.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS