Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
Taiwan Post began to issue stamps marked with the name "Taiwan" in February after it changed its name from Chunghwa Post as part of the government's name-change campaign.
Ma yesterday reiterated his vow to put the nation's official title back on stamps if he wins the election.
He also said, however, that he would take public opinion into consideration before taking similar action to restore the official name elsewhere.
"It's against the regulations of the Universal Postal Union to change the name on stamps before the nation's name is changed," Ma said during an interview with UFO radio.
When asked to comment on the government's name-change campaign -- which included renaming Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall -- Ma condemned the government for confusing both citizens and foreigners with the campaign.
"I will deal with the name-change issue seriously if elected and listen to public opinion before making a decision to restore the title ROC in some contexts," he said.
In response to the government's decision to relax a limit on the height of buildings within a 3km radius of the runway of Taipei's Songshan Airport, Ma yesterday shrugged off concerns that the measure could disqualify the airport from handling cross-strait flights and promised to allow the airport to provide cross-strait flights if elected president.
He further promised to relax the cap on Taiwanese investment in China.
"The government should not manipulate political issues and ideology and become an obstacle to economic development," Ma said later during a visit to Neihu Technology Park.
If Songshan Airport serves cross-strait flights, more companies would establish headquarters or research centers in Taiwan while setting up factories in China, Ma said, as it would only take one-and-a-half hours to fly from Taipei to Shanghai.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
A British man was arrested for attempting to smuggle 14.37kg of marijuana into Taiwan through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Customs said late yesterday. The man, who arrived from Bangkok at 9pm on Friday, was asked by customs officers to open his luggage during a random inspection, Taipei Customs said in a news release. The passenger, whose identity was not disclosed, refused to open his suitcase and tried to flee the restricted area. He was eventually subdued by three customs officials and an Aviation Police Bureau officer. A later search of his checked luggage uncovered 14.37kg of marijuana buds. The case was handed over