In an interview published in the Indian quarterly India and Global Affairs yesterday, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said he hoped that a cross-strait peace accord could be reached during his term in office.
Ma said there was no timetable in setting up a mechanism for mutual military trust or signing a peace agreement between China and Taiwan. He said that weekend chartered flight services and allowing more Chinese tourists were his administration’s priorities and were accomplished in July. The next step was the push for direct air and sea links, normalization of cross-strait economic relations, and then international participation and a peace agreement, he said.
Negotiating solutions to these issues could not be achieved in the short term, but Ma said he was willing to do his best and hoped to accomplish them during his term.
Ma made the remarks in response to a question asked by the magazine as to whether he would see the more than 1,000 Chinese missiles aimed at Taiwan removed during his presidency.
The interview was conducted in written form in August.
The Presidential Office said yesterday that Ma was stressing that he wanted to achieve these goals during his term in office, but that it was not a formal promise or statement.
In the interview, when asked if the failure to pass the referendums on the UN and constitutional amendments meant that Taiwan would give up these efforts, Ma said it only meant that the Taiwanese people still had different opinions on the name and method to be used for a UN membership bid.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
NO SHAME IN RETREAT: Hikers should consider turning back if the weather turns bad or if they do not have sufficient equipment, the Taroko park headquarters said Two people died of hypothermia over the weekend while hiking on Hsuehshan (雪山), prompting park authorities to remind hikers to bring proper equipment and consider their physical condition before setting out in the cold weather. Temperatures dropped over the weekend, bringing snow to high altitudes in Shei-pa National Park. One hiker, surnamed Lin (林), who on Friday was traveling with a group of six along the Hsuehshan west ridge trail, lost consciousness due to hypothermia and died, the Shei-pa National Park Headquarters said. On Saturday, another hiker, surnamed Tien (田), in a group of five on the southeast of the west
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