President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) envoy to the 2008 APEC forum leaders summit described his encounter with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) on Friday as an “interesting” meeting between two “old friends.”
“It is very significant for old friends to meet each other outside of Asia,” former vice president Lien Chan (連戰) said at an international press conference after his 40-minute meeting with Hu at the Chinese president’s hotel. The meeting was open to the media for around five minutes.
Lien addressed Hu as “General Secretary Hu” — Hu met Lien in his capacity as general secretary of the Communist Party of China — while Hu addressed Lien as “chairman,” referring to his post as honorary chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Hu, accompanied by Wang Yi (王毅), director of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said that he was happy to meet Lien again and lauded his efforts in promoting the peaceful development of cross-strait relations over the years.
Asked whether or not he carried any messages from Ma, Lien said only that he and Hu discussed “things about which we are concerned and how to direct our efforts toward peaceful development, cooperation and a win-win situation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.”
“We hope to put economics ahead of politics,” Lien said.
Taiwan still needs to consult with China on the signing of investment guarantee agreements for Taiwanese businessmen operating in China and on the avoidance of double taxation, he said.
Foreign reporters covering the meeting said that Latin American nations did not dare not sign free trade agreements (FTAs) with Taiwan because of the “one China” principle and asked Lien if he discussed the matter with Hu.
Lien said the issue was complex and was not included in the meeting, adding that while the promotion of FTAs is important, the multilateral free trade system under the APEC framework is also crucial.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
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