The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday confirmed that party chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) met with former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀) and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong (吳作棟) on Wednesday and promised to seek closer relations with China.
Wu met with the two Singaporeans during his trip to Southeast Asia to discuss the global financial crisis and the economic situation in the region, the KMT confirmed in a press release after major Singaporean newspapers had reported on the meeting.
During the meeting, Lee reiterated Singapore’s support of the “one China” policy and called on President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration to continue improving cross-strait relations as it would benefit the region as a whole.
Goh joined Lee in welcoming the Ma administration’s efforts to seek closer ties with China and said he expected Taipei and Beijing to hold more talks in the future.
As the ruling party, Wu said the KMT had reached a consensus with China to put aside political controversy and focus on efforts to push for peaceful development and economic cooperation across the Taiwan Strait.
The KMT chairman also met with overseas Taiwanese groups during his trip and said they should feel free to develop relations with Chinese groups in Singapore, as the two sides of the Strait are seeking peaceful relations.
Wu visited Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia during the nine-day trip to discuss the development of bilateral or multilateral economic relations and returned late on Wednesday night.
Summing up his trip upon his return, Wu said it remained difficult for Taiwan to sign free trade agreements with nations in Southeast Asia and so the government should seek to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement with China first.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
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