Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Lin Join-sane (林中森) yesterday said a planned cross-strait service trade agreement will contribute to the modernization of the service industry and create jobs on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Lin made the remarks at a welcoming ceremony held after his arrival at the Dongjiao State Guest Hotel in Shanghai ahead of a new round of high-level cross-strait talks today.
Lin was greeted at the hotel by Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Chairman Chen Deming (陳德銘).
Photo: CNA
“It feels like an encounter between old friends even though we have never met before,” Lin said when he first set eyes on Chen.
Today’s meeting will be the ninth round of high-level talks between the foundation and ARATS since June 2008.
On the agenda is the signing of a service trade agreement to further expand cross-strait markets. The agreement will be a major follow-up to the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) signed in 2010.
Lin said the service industry contributed more to China’s annual GDP than its manufacturing sector for the first time in the first quarter of this year, while the service sector already accounts for 72 percent of Taiwan’s GDP.
However, the service sector ratios of Taiwan and China are low in comparison with those of advanced countries, he said.
“Therefore, there is still ample room for the service sectors on both sides to grow,” Lin said, adding that he is convinced the new pact will help speed up service industry modernization and create more jobs and business opportunities in both Taiwan and China.
Chen said the new accord would be an important milestone in ECFA implementation.
In the face of mounting global financial and economic challenges and competition, the two sides of the Strait should cooperate closely to upgrade their competitiveness and avoid being marginalized, he said.
The two sides will also review how previous cross-strait agreements have been implemented and draw up an agenda for the next round of high-level talks, Lin said.
Topics include cooperation in tax and avoidance of double taxation, meteorological studies, seismic monitoring and natural disaster prevention.
Lin’s delegation includes foundation Vice Chairman and Secretary-General Kao Koong-lian (高孔廉), Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) and Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Cho Shih-chao (卓士昭).
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
RSS