Premier Su Tseng-chang (
"My attitude never changes, in terms of the government's policy toward lifting bans against Chinese tourists, the three links or Taiwanese banks' investment in China," Su said when asked by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Jih-chu (
At the same session, Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (
"Liberalizing the three links has always been the government's policy. In addition, several agreements on the issue were achieved during the Conference on Sustaining Taiwan's Economic Development last summer, too. That explains the government's determination to keep pursuing this," Wu said.
`Always friendly'
Su said Taiwan is always friendly toward China. The problem is that China never treats Taiwan's government as a sovereign authority since issues like the links need to be discussed and negotiated between governments.
"They are always unfriendly when it comes to this issue. This is not good," Su said.
Meanwhile, in a related development, the Ministry of the Interior on Thursday issued operating guidelines for an amendment to the Statute Governing Relations Between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例) to allow certain civil servants ranked grade 10 or below and police officers ranked level 4 or below to visit China.
Restricted
All civil servants as well as personnel in the Ministry of Defense, the Bureau of Investigation and the National Security Bureau were restricted from traveling to China by the statute prior to the amendment, which was promulgated last July.
According to the guidelines, the new categories of civil servants and officers are eligible to apply to their respective agencies to visit China at least a week before departure.
A recent ministry press release said that such personnel were not permitted to reveal confidential information or otherwise compromise national security interests while in China, and that violators would be punished accordingly.
"[Civil servants and police officers visiting China] must... safeguard against leaking confidential documents, photographs or visual aids, information or physical objects," the release said.
MAC Vice Chairman Johnnason Liu (
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
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