Hoping to hammer out the details of People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong's (
"The PFP is working for the future of cross-strait relations and to facilitate dialogue between the governments [of China and Taiwan]. We are exerting all our efforts for the Taiwanese people to make a contribution to this land," Chin said yesterday before departing for Beijing via Hong Kong.
At the airport yesterday morning, Chin also said that Soong's trip to China is being made as the chairman of a Taiwanese opposition party and in the spirit of the so-called "1992 consensus."
Accompanying Chin on his trip yesterday were PFP Legislator Lee Yung-ping (李永萍), party policy department head Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀), deputy head of the PFP's administrative department Yeh Chia-yu (葉家宇) and deputy communications department head Wu Kun-yu (吳崑玉).
In a statement released by the party Saturday night about Chin's departure, the PFP reiterated its previous stance on Soong's upcoming journey to China. With Taiwan as its top priority and cross-strait peace as its core principle, the PFP hopes to negotiate with China under an atmosphere of mutual respect and sincerity after consolidating the views of both the governing and opposition camps, the statement said.
Soong is expected to visit China within the first 10 days of May. His trip will come on the heels of a similar trip by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
On the KMT side yesterday, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
In regards to the president's attitude on the so-called "1992 consensus," more time is needed to see change, Ma said.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
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