Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma made the remarks during a tea party at 228 Memorial Park with eight citizens who won an online contest for a chance to meet with the chairman. He was responding to one participant's worries over the nation's slumping economy.
"Taiwan has the most advantageous position geographically, but the ban on direct flights and Chinese tourists has put Taiwan in an inferior position compared with many other Asian countries," Ma said.
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Ma once again lauded the Mainland Affairs Council's (MAC) decision to allow Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan, and called on President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) "not to interfere with the Executive Yuan's decision this time."
Ma said that allowing Chinese tourists to visit could revitalize the local tourist and service industries and create more opportunity for cross-strait exchanges. He also suggested that the government should allow Chinese students to attend college in Taiwan.
Participant Shi Jing-chuan (
But Ma defended the meeting.
"What the KMT is doing now is to build a bridge between Taiwan and China. If the DPP government is willing to walk on the bridge, then there will be positive development," Ma responded.
Besides serious issues, participants at tea party also asked about how to keep one's hair black, how to teach kids about relationships and the secret to achieving a high "EQ" or emotional quotient. Housewife Fang Ching-mei (方靜鎂) praised Ma's "charming eyes" for "making me shy when looking at me" as the chairman was answering her question, and even tried to kiss Ma when having her picture taken with him.
In response to participants' curiosity and passion, Ma lauded their input on economic and political issues.
"They shared some deep thoughts and questions on some key issues. People who are in power should never ignore the voice of our citizens or treat them as idiots," he said.
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
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
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
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