The policies of “diplomatic truce” and “modus vivendi” were successful strategies that improved cross-strait relations and contributed to the goodwill and respect APEC showed to Taiwan this year, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday.
Ma made the remarks in an interview with M-Radio in Taichung City yesterday, referring to the list of countries and leaders issued by APEC, in which Taiwan was referred to as “Chinese Taipei” while Ma was addressed using his official title, along with his photo.
“This was the first time that the country’s president was introduced in an APEC document and it shows that we have adopted the right strategies of no unification, no independence and no use of force,” Ma said.
Ma appointed former vice president and honorary Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) as the nation’s envoy at this year’s APEC summit meeting in Lima, Peru, making Lien the highest ranking former Taiwanese official to attend the meeting. Lien is scheduled to leave for Lima on Wednesday.
At a separate setting yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed Peru’s gesture as the first APEC host country to publicly refer to Taiwan’s head of state as “president” on the official APEC Web site.
This was also the first time since Taiwan became an APEC member-economy in 1991 that a host country published a picture of a Taiwanese president on the Web site.
“We always welcome any gesture that promotes normalized relations between Taiwan and the international community. Using President Ma Ying-jeou’s picture and his official title as president [on the Web site] is a positive development,” acting ministry spokesman James Chang (章計平) said.
Because of objections from Beijing, Taiwanese presidents are barred from attending one of the grouping’s key policymaking summits, which means that the president must appoint a non-governmental special envoy as his representative.
In past years, Taiwan’s representatives were mostly business leaders or senior economic advisers.
Taiwan’s official national designation, the Republic of China, is still banned from being used at APEC, where Taiwan is known as “Chinese Taipei.”
While pan-green supporters claim the use of “Chinese Taipei” undermines Taiwan’s sovereign status, the pan-blue camp views it as a satisfactory compromise in exchange for Taiwan’s participation in the organization.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
When Paraguayan opposition lawmaker Leidy Galeano returned from an all-expenses-paid tour of six Chinese cities late last year, she was convinced Paraguay risked missing out on major economic gains by sticking with longtime ally Taipei over Beijing — a message that participants on the trip heard repeatedly from Chinese officials. “Everything I saw there, I wanted for my country,” said Galeano, a member of the newly-formed Yo Creo party whose senior figures have spoken favorably about China. This trip and others like it — which people familiar with the visits said were at the invitation of the Chinese consulate in Sao Paulo
RSS