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.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
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
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS