Yunlin will top China’s list when it comes to purchasing agricultural products from Taiwan, Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) said yesterday.
“Yunlin loves Yunlin,” he told the people welcoming him at the balloon-decorated gate of the National Yunlin University of Science and Technology before he attended a meeting with local farmers.
Hsieh Shu-ya (謝淑亞), director of the Yunlin Farmers’ Association, told reporters after the closed-door meeting that because the county was the biggest producer of agricultural products in Taiwan, the association hoped to see a -purchasing center established there.
“We welcome Chen Yunlin to Yunlin,” she said. “With the establishment of the center, we hope to see the spring of the agricultural industry across the Taiwan Strait.”
Tom Su (蘇俊豪), general manager of Taiwan Farmer United Logistics Corp, made some recommendations for how to solve what he called the problems that exporters of Taiwanese agricultural products faced when sending their goods to China.
Chen, however, was noncommittal to all the proposals. The Chinese envoy emphasized that he heard what they said and that Taiwan and China were “brothers who come from the same blood.”
Lin Feng-yi (林豐儀), chairman of Yunlin Farmers Association, said the association planned to present a comprehensive proposal to -ARATS within two months.
Lin Jin-chung (林金忠), a secretary of Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-feng (蘇治芬), protested inside the National Yunlin University of Science and Technology after Chen came out of the meeting.
“Taiwan and China, each side is a [separate] country,” he yelled.
“Taiwan and China are two different countries and cooperation will only benefit people if it is country-to-country,” he later said of the purpose of his protest.
“While Chen should have respected Taiwan’s sovereignty, he announced during his stay that he crossed the Jhuoshui River (濁水溪),” he said, referring to the river that is generally regarded as the boundary demarcating Taiwan’s northern and southern regions.
While the north is perceived as more sympathetic toward the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the central and southern Taiwan areas support the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Lin Jin-chung said Su Chih-feng of the DPP knew nothing about his protest beforehand. Although he had obtained a pass issued by the organizer, he was denied access to the closed-door meeting because the organizer said his pass was not stamped, he said.
Commenting on Lin Jin-chung’s protest, Lin Feng-yi said it was -unnecessary because Chen’s visit was business in nature. Although they did not invite Su Chih-feng to yesterday’s meeting with local farmers, Lin Feng-yi said he did not think she would oppose. Su Chih-feng traveled to New Zealand on Tuesday, which has been perceived by some as a way to avoid the controversy.
“Chen is not here to sign any political agreements, but to help our farmers,” Lin Feng-yi said.
Chen traveled back to Taipei later yesterday to attend a dinner banquet hosted by former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰). Chen is to dine with former KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) today before returning to China early tomorrow morning.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS