A "cross-strait common market" remained the topic for heated debate between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidates in a campaign platform presentation televised last night.
ACCUSATIONS
Rebutting accusations from the DPP that the "cross-strait common market" envisioned by KMT vice presidential candidate Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) would "sell out" Taiwan to China, KMT presidential hopeful Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said last night that, if elected, he would not allow poor-quality wares and agricultural products from China into the domestic market, nor would he open the labor market to Chinese workers.
"I assure you that I will not lift the ban on Chinese workers during my term. That is my promise to you all," Ma said.
Responding to Ma's remarks, DPP candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said that once the door has been opened to China, the influx of Chinese workers to Taiwan would become unstoppable.
Chinese workers would occupy job vacancies that are supposed to belong to Taiwanese, Hsieh said.
SOVEREIGNTY
To implement a "one China market" would turn Taiwan into a second Hong Kong and cost Taiwan its sovereignty, he said.
Returning to his previous allegation against Ma, Hsieh said that Ma's US green card remained valid.
When Hsieh first raised the green card issue in January, Ma initially responded that he did not have a green card, but later conceded that he did have one in 1977, which he used to get student loans and employment after graduation.
It was automatically invalidated in 1985 when he applied for a visa to travel to the US, Ma said at the time.
Hsieh insisted that Ma still holds a valid US green card because he never completed an I-407 form to relinquish his permanent residency in the US, nor has a US immigration court invalidated his card.
EVIDENCE
"If you can provide official evidence to prove that [your US] permanent residency card was invalidated 20 years ago, I will apologize, or even withdraw from the election," Hsieh said last night.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it