The nation is to continue its efforts to strengthen bilateral economic ties with countries in the Asia-Pacific region and seek trade liberalization, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Ministry spokeswoman Anna Kao (高安) made the remarks at a regular news briefing, amid reports of Chinese opposition to a Taiwan-Malaysia free-trade agreement (FTA).
Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Huang Huikang (黃惠康) openly expressed Beijing’s opposition to any move by Malaysia to sign an FTA with Taiwan.
The Chinese government has always maintained that Taiwan is part of China and would object to any official activity between Malaysia and Taiwan, including the signing of an FTA, Huang said during a question-and-answer session after delivering a speech at a Malaysian university on Tuesday, reports said.
Asked about the reports, John Lai (賴建中), director-general of the ministry’s Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs, said Malaysia is Taiwan’s eighth-largest economic partner.
Since Taiwan and Malaysia are both members of the APEC and the WTO, Lai said that strengthening bilateral economic ties would be beneficial to businesses in the two countries.
Trade liberalization is a global trend, the director-general added.
Taiwan is seeking to sign economic cooperation agreements with countries such as Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines, as part of efforts to strengthen its economic ties in the region.
The nation has already signed economic cooperation agreements with Singapore and New Zealand, as well as an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China.
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
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DEFENDING FREEDOM: Taiwanese love peace and helping others, and hope to be a positive force in the world, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim told ‘Weltspiegel’ Taiwan is making every effort to prevent war in the face of China’s hybrid coercion tactics and military threats, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said in an interview with German public broadcaster ARD’s program Weltspiegel that aired on Monday. Taiwan is not seeking provocation or intending to disrupt international order, but “must possess the capacity for self-defense,” a news release issued by the Presidential Office yesterday quoted her as saying. Taiwan is closely watching not only the increasing scope and frequency of Chinese military exercises around the nation, but also Beijing’s hybrid and cognitive warfare tactics, including manipulating public opinion, fostering
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