Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien (王建煊) yesterday suggested that the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission (OCAC) expand its services to include expatriates from the People’s Republic of China.
Wang made the remarks during a speech before 180 board members of the OCAC, who returned to the country to attend its annual conference in Taipei.
“It doesn’t matter whether they are expatriates from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong or Macau, they should be regarded as a unit. Given the increasing number of Chinese expatriates, if you restricted your services to Taiwanese expatriates, I believe there wouldn’t be much left for you to do,” Wang said.
Wang said that Taiwan could win over Chinese expatriates by extending good services and showing them care, adding that the OCAC should focus more on love than the issue of unification versus independence.
“Under the leadership of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), we have seen a significant improvement in cross-strait relationships. If it continues to develop, the Nobel Peace Prize will one day be awarded to the people of the Republic of China,” Wang said.
Wang said love was the basis for Ma’s cross-strait policy and the starting point from which to develop cross-strait peace.
All political leaders and OCAC board members should work to bring better lives to people on both sides of the Strait, Wang told the audience, adding that: “Taiwan will succeed when it becomes an island of love.”
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
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,