Taipei City Government spokesman Yang Hsiao-tung (
Yang is expected to officiate at the opening of the Taiwan Pavilion at the expo, which will be showcasing tourist attractions in Taiwan.
Yang is the first city official to visit Beijing since Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (
Yang said that the Taiwan Pavilion will be positioned independently at the expo -- not in the domestic or international area -- to avoid Taiwan from being "dwarfed."
The expo is expected to attract exhibitors from more than 80 countries and areas around the world to show off their tourism specialties.
Yang said that the Taiwan Pavilion will offer Taiwan's signature "pearl milk tea" and instant "fun photo" stickers.
Yang declined to comment on speculation that he would be meeting officials from Beijing's National Tourism Administration for talks on a wide range of topics, including the disputed Olympic torch relay route.
Officials from the Mainland Affairs Council recently said that Taiwan was willing to renegotiate the torch route with China so long as the nation's status is not downgraded.
Taiwan rejected Beijing's original route, saying it sought to downgrade Taiwan's sovereignty. The government wants the torch to come to Taipei via a third country and travel to another country before arriving in China.
Yang is also scheduled to travel to Shanghai to meet officials and leaders from the private sector for talks on city-to-city cultural exchanges.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard