European officials reportedly endorsed President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) East China Sea Peace Initiative last week and said they welcome the innovative views outlined in the plan.
Their endorsement came at the annual consultation meeting on non-trade issues of the European Union Centre in Taiwan, which also discussed the implications for cross-strait relations of the Chinese Communist Party’s 18th Party Congress and other issues.
According to sources, Taiwanese officials told their European counterparts at the two-day bilateral consultation meeting that current cross-strait relations would stay the course, despite changes in China’s leadership.
European officials reportedly said that geopolitics, the economy and cultural affairs were the three main focuses of ongoing relations development between the EU and China.
Taiwanese officials attending the meeting said they explained Taiwan’s perspective on sovereignty over the disputed islands in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, while emphasizing Ma’s East China Sea peace initiative.
The EU officials welcomed the initiative, saying it conformed with the EU’s objectives on East Asia politics.
Other issues discussed included encouraging bilateral exchanges for academics, strengthening cooperation on human rights, enhancing privacy information protection, preventing human trafficking, and promoting the multilateral contacts between the judiciary and executive agencies of Taiwan and the EU.
Opened three years ago, the center has been commended for the many concrete results it has achieved and the EU has promised its continued support for its operation.
As far as Taiwan is concerned, the center has asked the EU to send the officials in charge of the Marie Curie Actions program to visit universities in Taiwan to better promote this grants program.
The Marie Curie Actions is one of the EU’s main fellowship programs to nurture talent in the scientific fields by supporting researchers with grants to further their research work and academic exchanges in European countries.
Regarding the Taiwanese government’s stated objective to participate in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and other international organizations, EU officials has advised Taiwan to pass the stalled greenhouse gas reduction act (溫室氣體減量法) to show the government’s resolve in complying with international standards.
According to Taiwanese officials, this EU-Taiwan consultation meeting was the most successful in recent years, with a number of EU specialized agency officials participating.
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
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
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