Minister of Economic Affairs Chang Chia-juch (張家祝) on Sunday said he has urged China to give “pragmatic responses” to key problems that are challenging the progress of talks on a proposed cross-strait service trade agreement.
Chang said he brought up the issue during his meeting with Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng (高虎城) on Friday, after his arrival in Qingdao for an annual APEC ministerial meeting.
Chang said that at the meeting he told Gao that the problems are mostly linked to the industrial sector, particularly businesses that produce petrochemicals, panels, automobiles and machine tools.
If China cannot give a full and pragmatic response, there is no chance Taiwan will sign the agreement, Chang told Gao.
Gao reportedly said that Chinese enterprises have a lot to say about China’s opening to Taiwan, and some are worried the deal would continue meeting similar roadblocks along the way.
The cross-strait service trade agreement was signed in June last year, but has not yet been endorsed by the nation’s lawmakers who worry about the impact on small local businesses and the job market.
Despite the concerns, Gao promised that China’s internal coordination would continue and he reiterated Beijing’s efforts to promote win-win cross-strait exchanges, Chang said.
However, Gao raised concerns about Taiwan’s draft bill on an oversight mechanism for cross-strait agreements, which is now under review in the legislature, Chang added.
Conveying Beijing’s stance on the issue, Gao said the draft act is seen as discriminatory and imbued with a sense of Taiwan independence, Chang said.
“It is absolutely not acceptable,” Chang cited Gao as saying.
Chang said he told Gao the draft act is an internal matter and has nothing to do with the challenges facing the talks on the trade of goods.
However, the two matters can be handled simultaneously because they are not contradictory to each other, the minister said he told Gao.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
RSS