The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has taken a first step toward closer engagement with Chinese students in Taiwan with a two-day student camp, hoping the activity will foster better understanding between the two sides.
In the camp, held on Saturday and yesterday by the party’s think tank, 34 students focused on democracy and human rights as well as Taiwan’s history and its struggle for human rights.
The students participated in a symposium with a number of DPP officials, including Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), on Saturday and visited the Green Island Human Rights Memorial Park yesterday, DPP Department of Youth Development director Chang Chi-chang (張基長) said.
Taking inspiration from a remark from Chinese dissident Wang Dan (王丹), who said the DPP did not have to look far to increase its understanding of China because Chinese students currently studying in Taiwan were the best source for contact, plans for such a camp materialized within a short period, DPP Department of China Affairs director Honigmann Hong (洪財隆) said.
The party said it stayed low-key about the event in the hope of lowering political sensitivity that came with the nature of such activity, which was why it did not make any announcement about the event prior to issuing a press release yesterday.
The DPP has had difficulty handling issues related to Chinese students in Taiwan, such as their rights to work and receive National Health Insurance coverage, as the party was caught between national security concerns, reciprocal treatment for Taiwanese students in China and human rights considerations.
Although it previously insisted on tougher restrictions on Chinese students in Taiwan, the party appears to have softened its position.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
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