The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will not encourage protests during the sixth round of high-level talks between Taiwanese and Chinese envoys in Taipei next week, a party spokesperson said yesterday.
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) is expected to arrive on Monday for three days of meetings with Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤).
Past meetings between the two semi-official organizations have drawn popular protests. Police estimated that about 30,000 people took part in a DPP-led rally against a meeting between the two in Tai-chung in December last year.
However, Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦), a spokesperson for the DPP, said DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) met with top party officials yesterday and told them the party does not plan to ask its supporters to take to the streets.
“Chen’s visits to Taiwan have become routine business,” Cheng said. “That being said, we will continue to closely monitor the contents of the meeting ... and protect the interests of the people.”
The talks next week are expected to include discussions on medical cooperation, as well as the establishment of investment protocols, which could provide Taiwanese businesses operating in China with greater investment protection.
The two negotiators are also expected to tackle the creation of a cross-strait Economic Cooperation Committee, an issue mandated in the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) signed during the last round of talks in Chongqing, China, in late June.
The nature of next week’s talks will be less controversial than the ECFA, a broad tariff-reduction agreement that drew large protests prior to its signing.
The DPP, nevertheless, does not rule out taking “emergency measures” if any of the agreements that may be signed next week are against Taiwan’s interests or undermine its sovereignty, Cheng said, without elaborating.
The meeting next week will be the second time SEF-ARATS talks have been held in Taipei. The previous meeting took place in November 2008.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost