The territory of the Republic of China includes the area of People’s Republic of China (PRC), the South China Sea and the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Steve Hsia (夏季昌) said yesterday.
Hsia made the remarks in response to reporters’ inquiries regarding China’s plan to publish a new official map, which includes islands in the South China Sea, the Diaoyutais and Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China.
Xinhua news agency issued a statement on Saturday announcing that China for the first time has inked South China Sea islands on its new official maps in equal scale to China.
The map also for the first time features an illustration of the Diaoyutai Islands, Xinhua said.
During a regular news briefing yesterday, Hsia was asked by reporters if the ministry planned to lodge a protest against China over the new map.
Hsia said that matters related to the government’s dealings with China fall under the Mainland Affairs Council and not the ministry.
According to the Constitution, the Spratlys (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), the Paracels (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), the Pratas (Dongshan Islands, 東沙群島), the Macclesfield Bank (Zhongsha Islands, 中沙群島), other islands in the entire South China Sea region, the Diaoyutais and the area of the PRC are all inherent territory of the ROC, Hsia said.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
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Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
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