Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) reiterated yesterday that he did not hold a grudge against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) for not appointing him to head the party’s China Affairs Committee (CAC).
At a question-and-answer session after giving a speech to about 200 students at Shih Hsin University, the former premier said that although he and Su had different visions for the committee — Hsieh thinks it should be a decisionmaking body for the DPP’s China policy and Su thinks it should serve as a communication platform — “I agreed with [Su’s] decision of doubling as the CAC convener because it would be less controversial.”
“I like having someone who executes policies and make things happen in charge of the CAC even if I have to carry out someone else’s policy and initiatives,” Hsieh added.
In his 40-minute speech, Hsieh spoke about his initiative of “constitutions with different interpretations” (憲法各表), which has caused heated debate within the DPP and drawn criticism from independence supporters, and his views on closer cross-strait engagement.
Among the audience were dozens of Chinese students at the university who asked Hsieh questions.
Asked about Taiwan’s “three limits, six noes” policy (三限六不) on Chinese students, Hsieh said Chinese students should be allowed to be employed part-time in jobs related to academia and school administration.
The policy limits the number of Chinese students to 0.1 percent of total domestic student recruitment and bars them from taking courses in pharmaceuticals, Chinese and Western medicine, advanced technology or national security.
The “six noes” stipulate that Chinese students’ entrance exams will not be treated preferentially, they will receive no scholarships or affect Taiwanese enrollment, are ineligible for part-time jobs and cannot participate in licensing examinations or stay in Taiwan after graduation.
Hsieh also called on Beijing to extend more goodwill to Taiwanese.
“The US and Australia do not point guns at those who want to become US or Australian citizens. If Beijing wants Taiwanese to become Chinese, it should follow the US’ and Australia’s example,” Hsieh said.
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
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai