Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
During a visit to the Los Angeles-based think tank the Rand Corporation, academics questioned Ma about the feasibility of his proposed China policy initiatives -- the "five dos."
Ma introduced a program for engagement with China in a speech at Harvard University on March 20, which he labeled the "five dos."
The five points of the initiative are: To resume negotiations between Taiwan and China based on the so-called "1992 consensus" (agreeing to disagree about the definition of "one China"); to reach a peace accord with confidence building measures; to facilitate economic exchanges with the aim of eventually establishing a common market; to work with China to boost Taiwan's presence in international bodies and to expand educational and cultural exchanges.
Ma said that four out of the "five dos" had already been mostly implemented, as result of former KMT chairman Lien Chan's (
"As for the fifth one, concerning education, I think it shouldn't pose too much of a problem," Ma said.
During his stay in Los Angeles, Ma also had an interview with CNN, in which he reiterated the KMT's hope of signing an accord with China that would promise cross-strait peace for a period of 30-50 years.
Ma also visited Los Angeles Mayor Antonia Villaraigosa. The two vowed to promote artistic exchanges between the two cities.
They also shared views and experiences regarding respective municipal projects, such as the provision of wireless broadband Internet services, but Villaraigosa said his city was "obviously behind" Taipei City on this issue.
Ma also gave a speech to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council entitled "Peace and Stability in East Asia -- Taiwan's Role."
The content of the speech was more or less the same as a previous speech he delivered to the Brookings Institute in Washington last week.
Ma is slated to return to Taiwan early today from Los Angeles -- the last leg of a US tour that has taken him to New York, Boston, Washington and San Francisco.
Back in Taipei, the KMT caucus yesterday held a news conference to praise Ma's performance as he concluded his visit to the US.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
RSS