The Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) belong to China and all Chinese who love their country have the responsibility to safeguard them, Master Hsing Yun (星雲法師), founder of the Fo Guang Shan Monastery, said yesterday.
Hsing Yun made the remarks during a visit by Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), who is leading a Chinese cultural exchange delegation in Taiwan.
Commenting on the recent row over the Diaoyutais, Hsing Yun said that both sides of the Taiwan Strait should work together on the issue.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
Hsing Yun said that religion has played a great role in furthering cross-strait ties and since “Taiwan is also a part of China” and both sides of the Strait are one, temples in China should not prohibit Taiwanese monks from becoming the heads of temples.
Praising Hsing Yun for his “patriotic sentiment,” Chen talked about the contributions Hsing Yun had made to cross-strait relations.
Chen said that when he was heading the Taiwan Affairs Office in 2000, cross-strait relations were very tense and if it was not for Hsing Yun’s call to allow Chinese tourists to come to Taiwan, relations between the two sides would not have be what they are today.
“Compassion is boundless,” Chen said, adding that with cross-strait relations developing peacefully under the watch of those who have touched upon the bodhicitta concept, “how far can we be from achieving our ideal goal?”
Bodhicitta is the attainment or will to attain the state in which a person has spontaneous and limitless compassion for all sentient beings.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS