The government will soon relax regulations on visits to China by high-level political appointees, certain military personnel and heads of state-owned enterprises, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) told reporters at a lunch gathering yesterday.
“The National Immigration Office and Mainland Affairs Council [MAC] have reached a consensus on [the relaxations] and they will be implemented soon,” Liu said.
REGULATIONS
Current regulations require such personnel to obtain approval from the MAC before traveling to China.
“Whether or not a permit is given is contingent on the purpose of the visit. We are now revising the regulations in a way that would see more permits granted,” said Liu Te-shun (劉德勳), an MAC vice chairman.
The Regulations for Visits to the Mainland Area by Government Employees and Persons with Special Status in the Taiwan Area (台灣地區公務員及特定身分人員進入大陸地區�?鴘k) stipulate that politically appointed public officials with the central government can only go to China when invited to attend activities held by international organizations or to conduct negotiations in China.
“There are precedents for ministerial-level officials visiting China. For example, Minister of Education Cheng Jei-cheng (鄭瑞城) and Minister without Portfolio Ovid Tseng (曾志朗) both attended the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games,” Liu Te-shun said.
Liu Chao-shiuan said that the officials would be allowed to tour China and conduct many kinds of exchanges with their Chinese counterparts after the revisions come into effect.
NOT FOR EVERYONE
The ban on visits to China by officials will be maintained on personnel whose official business is related to intelligence, national defense or security, as well as those in the high-tech sector.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS