A government proposal to establish free economic pilot zones is aimed at facilitating economic liberalization and consolidating the nation’s economic alliance with Japan to counter competition from China, Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said in an interview with the BBC’s Chinese-language service.
People who think that the plan is aimed mainly at enhancing economic cooperation between Taiwan and China have “failed to recognize the strategic value” of the proposal, Jiang said in the interview on Monday, of which the transcript was released to the press yesterday.
Contrary to popular understanding, the proposal was drafted to promote a model in which businesses in Taiwan and Japan could cooperate with each other in the fields of finance and technology to compete with their Chinese peers on global markets, Jiang said.
During the interview, Jiang also pushed for a meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), saying it would be “beneficial to people on both sides of the [Taiwan] Strait.”
“We will make every effort to foster the meeting,” Jiang said.
Jiang said the government has tried to allay Chinese concern that Ma’s proposal to meet Xi on the sidelines of an APEC meeting is an attempt to use an international event to elevate Taiwan’s international profile.
“We have been trying to make the other side [China] understand that we have no intention of internationalizing the Taiwan issue or making a political statement by having the meeting take place at an APEC summit,” Jiang said.
With regard to the next step on the government’s roadmap for cross-strait development following an exchange of visits between Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) and China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) earlier this year, Jiang said that political issues are inevitable.
Issues related to the establishment of representative offices in Taiwan and China to institutionalize cross-strait negotiations and “meetings between top leaders of both sides” to strengthen the basis for peaceful development of cross-strait relations are political in nature, Jiang said.
“We have to face the issues sooner or later,” he said.
Asked about the Occupy Central movement in Hong Kong and the appeal by hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents for direct election of the territory’s leader, Jiang said he was not in a position to comment on the issue in detail.
“The [administration in] Mainland China and Hong Kong handles the issue at a scheduled pace, but civil society expects them to adapt to meet their expectations. Like what we have experienced [in Taiwan], they should use their wisdom in facing the issue,” Jiang said.
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
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's
Three tropical depressions yesterday intensified into tropical storms, with one likely to affect Taiwan as a typhoon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The three storms, named Mitag, Ragasa and Neoguri, were designated as storms No. 17 to 19 for this year, the CWA said. Projected routes indicate that Ragasa is most likely to affect Taiwan, it said. As of 2am today, Ragasa was 1,370km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) on the southernmost tip of Taiwan. It was moving west-northwest before turning northwest, slowing from 11kph to 6kph, the agency said. A sea warning for Ragasa is unlikely before Sunday afternoon, but its outer rim