Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) arrived in Shanghai yesterday to attend tomorrow’s annual Taipei-Shanghai City Forum.
He met with Taiwan Affairs Office Director Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) soon after his arrival and later held talks with Shanghai Mayor Yang Xiong (楊雄) on direct flights between Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) and Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, which began in 2010.
Hau said that thanks to the direct flights, people could travel between Taipei and Shanghai in less than a day.
“For example, I left Taipei at 12:30pm today and arrived in Hongqiao at 2pm, ready for talks with friends,” he said.
The first Taipei-Shanghai City Forum was held in Taipei in April 2010. The two cities have taken turns to host the annual meeting.
This year, the forum will focus on issues related to the development of education, senior citizen services, sports and the media, Hau said.
Hau’s delegation includes Sean Lien (連勝文), deputy convenor of the Taipei City Economic Development Commission, and several prominent businessmen, such as Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) and Want Want China Times Group chairman Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明).
During this year’s forum Hau and Yang are scheduled to sign four memorandums of understanding on issues concerning district administration, libraries and a citizen service hotline.
Hau will leave for Russia on Friday to attend the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan.
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
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One of two tropical depressions that formed offshore this morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. It is expected to move in a northwesterly direction as it continues building momentum, possibly intensifying into Typhoon Mitag this weekend, she added. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is expected to approach southeast of Taiwan on Monday and pass through the Bashi Channel between Tuesday and Wednesday,
About nine Taiwanese are “disappeared,” detained, or otherwise deprived of freedom of movement in China each month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Between Jan. 1 last year and Aug. 31 this year, 188 Taiwanese travelers went missing, were detained and interrogated, or had their personal freedom restricted, with some questioned in airports or hotel lobbies, the council said. In a statement ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the council urged people visiting China for any reason to be highly vigilant and aware of the risks. Of the reported cases, 50 people were “disappeared” after entering China, 19 were detained and 119 had
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