The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said that it was “furious and shocked” to learn of remarks Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Lin Join-sane (林中森) had made about China’s controversial passports and demanded Lin step down for his inappropriate comments.
Lin on Monday said he had expressed Taiwan’s concerns on the passports, which show areas Beijing has no jurisdiction over — including Taiwan — as part of China’s territory, in his recent meeting with Beijing officials in China.
Lin said the Chinese officials had told him that there are two editions of the passports and that the new ones were not official and the changes had been made based on style considerations with the aim of “being trendy” and “without any [other] particular motive in mind.”
“We are furious, shocked and bewildered about [Lin Join-sane’s] remarks. When Vietnam, India and the Philippines all reacted to Beijing’s infringing on their territorial sovereignty, Lin Join-sane told us the passport design was just a matter of China seeking to be ‘trendy,’” DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) told reporters.
“Given Lin’s lack of experience and expertise in cross-strait affairs and negotiation, he is not equipped to defend Taiwan’s dignity and sovereignty and should step down from his post,” the spokesman added.
The party also expressed its disappointment over President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) remarks in a radio interview on Monday, in which he said that this year’s increases in fuel and electricity prices were the result of a recommendation made the state-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower).
“Ma was the one who ignored suggestions of the opposition and academics and unilaterally made the decision to raise the price at the time, but now he’s trying to hold Taipower responsible for his decision,” Lin Chun-hsien said.
The DPP was disappointed with the president, who has always appeared to maintain an attitude of “it’s everyone’s fault but mine” and made himself out to be someone who could do no wrong, Lin Chun-hsien said.
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