While conducting cross-strait negotiations at this juncture would be difficult, dialogue remains Taiwan's ultimate long-term goal, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Joseph Wu (
Wu indicated while delivering a speech at Waseda University yesterday that given the recent passage of Beijing's "Anti-Secession" Law, it would be difficult for negotiations to take place at this point in time, but assured that it would be the goal of the council's efforts in the future.
If both sides actively cooperate, the probability of success in discussing the politics of lasting peace increases, Wu said.
The Central News Agency reported from Tokyo yesterday that a crowd of roughly one hundred students was present at Wu's lecture, titled "Cross-strait relations and Taiwan's China Policy After the Anti-Secession Law."
Wu said that the goal of Taiwan's efforts was to secure goodwill, a peaceful resolution, active cooperation and lasting peace. Wu added, however, that while Beijing's Anti-Secession Law, which authorizes the use of force against Taiwan to check what it determines to be secessionist activity, had already gravely damaged cross-strait ties and Taiwan would continue to closely monitor China's moves. He reiterated that Taiwan would not give up on its goals of peaceful dialogue and peace across the Taiwan Strait.
Wu said that Beijing's military build-up was a threat to not only Taiwan but the entire East Asian region. He also noted that the crux of cross-strait conflict was in the diplomatic arena, with China using various measures to ensure Taiwan's diplomatic isolation.
Wu told his Japanese audience that various issues needed to be negotiated between Taiwan and China, naming cargo flights, monetary exchange, an agreement for the protection of the investment rights of Taiwanese businesspeople in China, financial management agencies, the avoidance of double taxation, cooperation on fighting crime and illegal immigration.
Wu left for Japan on Tuesday and is slated to return on Sunday.
Seven of the 17 NT$10 million (US$311,604) winning receipts from the November-December uniform invoice lottery remain unclaimed as of today, the Ministry of Finance said, urging winners to redeem their prizes by May 5. The reminder comes ahead of the release of the winning numbers for the January-February lottery tomorrow. Among the unclaimed receipts was one for a NT$173 phone bill in Keelung, while others were for a NT$5,913 purchase at Costco in Taipei's Neihu District (內湖), a NT$49 purchase at a FamilyMart in New Taipei City's Tamsui District (淡水), and a NT$500 purchase at a tea shop in New Taipei City's
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
Deliveries of delayed F-16V jets are expected to begin in September, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said today, after senior defense officials visited the US last week. The US in 2019 approved a US$8 billion sale of Lockheed Martin F-16 jets to Taiwan, a deal that would take the nation’s F-16 fleet to more than 200 jets, but the project has been hit by issues including software problems. Koo appeared today before a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which is discussing different versions of the special defense budget this week. The committee is questioning officials today,
TALENT SCOUTING: The university is investing substantial funds in its future to bring in the kind of researchers that would keep the college internationally competitive National Taiwan University (NTU) plans to invest NT$2 billion (US$62.6 million) to launch two programs aimed at attracting and retaining top research talent, university president Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) said yesterday. The funding would support the “Palm Grove Scholars Project,” which targets academics aged 40 to 55. Up to 20 scholars would be selected, each receiving as much as NT$10 million annually, Chen said. The initiative is designed to attract leading researchers to Taiwan and strengthen NTU’s global competitiveness by fostering a more research-friendly environment and expanding international collaboration, he said. NTU is also introducing a “Hong Hu” chair grant, which would provide Palm
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