Minister of Economic Affairs Chang Chia-juch (張家祝) is to promote the cross-strait service trade agreement at National Tsing Hua University and National Chiao Tung University in Hsinchu today and Wednesday respectively.
The minister is to exchange views on the pact with students at a forum at each university, economics officials said.
Since students occupied the main chamber of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on March 18 to protest the government’s handling of the pact, economic officials have sought to defend the service trade pact with China and have promoted it at different schools, saying the pact is vital to the nation’s economic integration in the region.
The campaign was launched by Chang’s colleague, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Woody Duh (杜紫軍) on Monday last week, when he delivered a speech at National Chengchi University in Taipei and National Taipei University in New Taipei City to explain the necessity of the pact.
In addition to the forum at Tsing Hua Univesity and Chiao Tung University, officials are scheduled to give eight presentations at universities in northern Taiwan before Thursday, in a bid to woo student support for the pact.
The officials said they have offered to give presentations on the pact at different schools since August last year, but only 18 of the 454 university departments they contacted have scheduled presentations.
However, the pact has become a controversial issue since protesters began occupying the Legislative Yuan.
Chinese National Federation of Industries secretary-general Tsai Lien-sheng (蔡練生) on Saturday said that Taiwan needs to be ready to “give” if it wants to participate in economic trade blocs.
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” Tsai said, adding that the “give” part of give-and-take must be emphasized in negotiations.
Trade liberalization is necessary to catch up economically, he said, citing a 10 percent decline in machinery exports to the US since the South Korea-US free-trade agreement took effect.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard