Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said yesterday that if Beijing can overcome its reluctance to address him by his official title, he will not rule out a cross-strait visit.
Wang made the remarks during an interview with a local radio station in which he was asked if he could open a proposed Taiwan representative office in China and exchange visits with Zhang Zhijun (張志軍), head of the Taiwan Affairs Office under China’s State Council.
If there is an appropriate way to promote such visits, Wang said, “we would welcome it,” but he added that it is very important that each official be addressed by their formal titles.
“We have no problem addressing them by their official titles, although they still have reservations about extending the same courtesy to our ministerial-level officials,” Wang said.
He said China should recognize that he is an appointed official of the Republic of China government and should be addressed accordingly.
“This is not a personal issue. If there is a formal meeting I am representing Taiwan,” Wang said.
On whether President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) could take part in next year’s informal leadership meeting of the APEC forum in China, Wang said that although some academics in China have been discussing the issue, it is too early to talk about it.
Meanwhile, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) will travel to Shanghai on Tuesday for a forum to discuss cross-strait business, education, sports and media exchanges.
Hau will meet with Shanghai Mayor Yang Xiong (楊雄) on Thursday and sign memorandums on district cooperation, libraries and citizen hotlines at the forum’s opening ceremony. Former Taipei EasyCard Corporation chairman Sean Lien (連勝文) and Terry Guo (郭台銘), founder and chairman of Hon Hai Group, will also join the delegation.
Lien’s participation in the forum sparked speculation about his bid for the Taipei mayoral election next year, as he has been a popular choice for the post. Hau yesterday denied trying to boost Lien’s momentum by inviting him to the forum, and said Lien would attend in his capacity as deputy convener of Taipei City’s Economic Development Commission.
“He will attend a forum on business opportunities for industries across the Taiwan Strait, and share his experience as a finance expert,” he said in announcing the visit.
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
TEMPORAL/SPIRITUAL: Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.” China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times,
Temperatures in some parts of Taiwan are expected to fall sharply to lows of 15°C later this week as seasonal northeasterly winds strengthen, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. It is to be the strongest cold wave to affect northern Taiwan this autumn, while Chiayi County in the southwest and some parts of central Taiwan are likely to also see lower temperatures due to radiational cooling, which occurs under conditions of clear skies, light winds and dry weather, the CWA said. Across Taiwan, temperatures are to fall gradually this week, dropping to 15°C to 16°C in the early hours of Wednesday
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