Take the egos and the politics out of cross-strait exchanges and focus on what is right and good, former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
Tsai said exchanges across the Taiwan Strait should not be dominated by specific political parties and individuals.
“Hopefully, our exchange visit will establish a new model for future engagement ... and both sides [of the Taiwan Strait] should ditch the past model of exchange that was exploited by a selected few with a limited perspective,” she told a press conference.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Tsai was briefing the media about a delegation organized by her Thinking Taiwan Foundation, which had visited China for a five-day academic exchange on economic issues.
The nine-member delegation led by Lin Chuan (林全), executive director of the foundation and a former minister of finance, focused exclusively on trade and economic policy, without the involvement of businesspeople or meetings with Chinese officials, she said.
Tsai said she insisted on “multi-layered, multi-faceted and diverse” bilateral exchanges that were based on professional expertise, rather than political considerations.
However, Tsai reiterated that she currently has no plan to visit China, adding that she would only do so if her visit was beneficial to Taiwanese interests and to cross-strait stability.
Lin said the visit has been “fruitful” and “sincere” in exchanging views and opinions on a variety of economic issues, reiterating that it was a “return visit” for the attendance of two prominent Chinese economists — Bank of China chief economist Cao Yuanzheng (曹遠征) and Ding Zhijie (丁志杰) of the University of International Business and Economics — at an event organized by the foundation in July last year.
The delegation visited 13 institutions, some of them government agencies, and private companies for an insight into the Chinese economy, the challenges it faces and the reform plan that was unveiled in the Chinese Communist Party third plenum, Lin said.
In some ways, China and Taiwan are tackling the same problems, such as industrial upgrades and further market liberalization, he said, adding that China had paid a dear price for its failure to balance economic development and environmental protection.
Experts in the delegation, among them two former Financial Supervision Commission chairmen, Hu Sheng-cheng (胡勝正) and Shih Chun-chi (施俊吉), offered their experience on banking deregulation to their Chinese counterparts, Lin said.
Lin said Chinese academics were also keen to understand more about Taiwan’s economic policy and challenges.
Asked if the Chinese side had brought up the controversial cross-strait service trade agreement and the follow-up trade in goods agreement, which is still under negotiation, Lin said several academics privately asked about it.
“Nothing about the content was mentioned, but we did advise Beijing to understand why the pact has been seen as a serious concern to Taiwanese. We also told them what our concerns are,” Lin said.
Shih summed up the benefits of the trip as discussions and on-site inspection that enabled better understanding of China’s banking policy, macroeconomic policy, the methodology and processing of its statistics and economic accounting, operation of its electronic and communication industry, such as computer manufacturer Lenovo and search engine Baidu, as well as China’s efforts on free-trade zones in Tianjin.
In the question-and-answer session, Tsai was asked about reports of her entering the DPP’s chairperson election in May.
“It’s still too early to tell. I have not given it a lot of thought, but the decision will depend on how the situation develops and evolves,” she said.
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
The US Department of State on Monday reaffirmed that US policy on Taiwan remains unchanged, following US President Donald Trump’s use of the term “unification” while commenting on recent trade talks with China. Speaking at a wide-ranging press conference, Trump described what he viewed as progress in trade negotiations with China held in Geneva, Switzerland, over the weekend. “They’ve agreed to open China — fully open China, and I think it’s going to be fantastic for China. I think it’s going to be fantastic for us,” Trump said. “I think it’s going to be great for unification and peace.” Trump’s use of the
RSS