China is willing to start negotiations with Taiwan as soon as possible on the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) proposed by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), a senior Chinese official said yesterday.
Taiwan Affairs Office Director Wang Yi (王毅) told the Strait Forum being held in Xiamen that China would cooperate with Taiwan by preparing for the negotiation process.
The Ma administration’s plan to sign an ECFA with Beijing has been fiercely debated, with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and some political observers saying it would make Taiwan too economically dependent on China. The proposed pact was criticized during yesterday’s protest in Taipei.
Wang also announced an increase in the number of Chinese allowed to visit Taiwan, saying the government would try to have “more than 600,000 visits this year.”
He also said more Taiwanese agricultural products would be purchased, with delegations making two trips to purchase fruit, vegetables and other agricultural products, one in the first half of the year, and one in the second half. He also said that China would initiate investments by Chinese companies in Taiwan.
On Saturday Wang announced that five more Chinese ports had been opened to direct shipping to Taiwan, bringing the total number of ports to 68.
He also announced more measures to boost cross-strait shipping, including granting tax exemptions, allowing the establishment of representative offices and moving to increase maritime safety.
“The people are the foundation and the driving force, the future is in their hands and the results will be shared by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” Wang said yesterday.
Meanwhile, People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Jia Qinglin (賈慶林) said yesterday that the Strait Forum would be an important platform for interactions between the people on each side of the Taiwan Strait and that China wanted to use it to expand exchanges.
Jia also extended an official welcome to DPP members to “expand exchanges and travel more frequently to China.”
Cross-strait relations have improved to unprecedented levels, and that the two sides should take this hard-earned development opportunity to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, Jia said, adding that this was the wish of both sides.
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