President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday expounded on his administration’s achievements in promoting peace across the Taiwan Strait and called for peace and cooperation in East Asia amid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
“Over the years, the Taiwan Strait and the Korean Peninsula have been considered two flashpoints in East Asia. The Korean Peninsula is now under escalating military tensions, while the Taiwan Strait has become an avenue of peace and prosperity, under peaceful and stable cross-strait relations,” he said in a meeting with a delegation from the US National Bureau of Asian Research, a non-profit institution that focuses on policy in the Asia-Pacific region.
North Korea on Monday announced it was withdrawing all workers and suspending operations at a joint industrial zone with South Korea, and said it would launch a missile today.
Ma yesterday detailed his administration’s efforts to improve cross-strait relations and reduce tensionsin the past five years. He also discussed his proposal last year of an East China Sea peace initiative, which aims to resolve disputes between Taiwan, China and Japan over sovereignty issues regarding the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) by calling for joint development of resources in the area while putting aside territorial disputes.
He also said he expected that Taiwan and the US would strengthen their economic and trade relations, as the two nations are preparing for talks under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement.
On the other hand, he said, Taiwan and China would continue to negotiate follow-up issues under the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, amid concerns about the Ma administration possibly moving from economic cross-strait cooperation to political negotiations in the near future.
In an interview with the Chinese-language United Daily News on Monday, Ma dismissed such concerns and insisted that political negotiations are “unnecessary” at the moment. He reiterated that the government would address easier cross-strait issues and develop economic relations with China before entering into political dialogue.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
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