A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) delegation left for Beijing yesterday to discuss the possible operation of Lunar New Year cross-strait charter flights.
The delegation consists of KMT legislators Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), John Chang (章孝嚴) and Chu Feng-chih (朱鳳芝), and KMT spokesman Chang Yung-kung (張榮恭). John Chang said before departing that Taipei and Beijing still need to discuss many details about the launch of the charter flights.
Saying that charter flights for this year had originally been seen by many as a hopeless matter, the legislator added that the KMT hopes it can successfully push for the matter again this year, following the method used in 2003.
He said the launch of flights had a 70 percent chance of success. The other 30 percent was subject to talks with Beijing, he said, adding that the Mainland Affairs Council and President Chen Shui-bian (
Expressing the hope that current cross-strait tensions can be eased by a successful launch of the charter flights, Chang also said Taiwan's government should not neglect the people's will.
Tseng said the KMT hopes that China will agree to using Beijing, Xiamen and Guangzhou as the departure and destination cities for the flights.
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
RSS