Improving cross-strait relations should be one of the most important issues facing President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) during his remaining two years in office, Legisla-tive Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said yesterday.
"I recommended to the president before the Dec. 3 local elections that improving cross-strait relations should be placed at the top of his agenda before his terms expires in two years' time," Wang said.
"I told him that the public hopes to see a new cross-strait policy. I will not take the initiative nor has the president asked me to [negotiate with China], but if the country needs me, I'm more than happy to serve at the pleasure of the president," he said.
In addition to proposing to the president that talks between China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) of Taiwan should be resumed as soon as possible, Wang said that he told the president that the planned second Economic Development Advisory Conference should address non-economic issues, such as cross-strait affairs and the resolution of political confrontation.
Wang said that he made the recommendation while meeting with the president regarding the president's appointment of his APEC envoy.
Wang was appointed by the president to represent him at the APEC summit in Busan, South Korea last month. After pressure from China, Seoul objected to Wang's selection and asked Chen to send someone with a stronger economics background instead.
The appointment was seen by analysts as a gesture to award Wang's impartiality in the legislature.
Wang said that although Beijing has more than once asked pan-blue lawmakers to relay its wish to see him visit China, he does not have any such plans at the moment.
It is important to obtain government authorization, Wang said, or it will be a waste of time even if both sides eventually reach a concrete agreement.
"We simply cannot ignore the Chinese market while mapping out the nation's economy policy," Wang said.
"He must come up with a more solid policy on how to make cross-strait transportation convenient and keep Taiwanese businesspeople here [in Taiwan]," he said.
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
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
The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) has been investigating nine shell companies working with Prince Holding Group, and the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is seeking further prosecution of alleged criminals, a source said yesterday. The nine companies and three Taiwanese nationals were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Oct. 14 as Specially Designated Nationals as a result of a US federal court indictment. Prince Holding founder Chen Zhi (陳志) has been charged with fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding’s suspected forced-labor camps in Cambodia, the indictment says. Intelligence shared between Taiwan,
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
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