FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Japanese visit for ROC day
A delegation of Japanese legislators is set to visit to attend the Republic of China’s (ROC) National Day celebrations, in line with previous years, a foreign affairs official said yesterday. The delegation is to be led by Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council Chairman Takeo Hiranuma and is to include 23 legislators, said Kuo Chung-shi (郭仲熙), deputy director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, at a regular press conference. The delegation is also to meet with Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and Lee Chia-chin (李嘉進), chairman of the Association of East Asian Relations, which handles Taiwan’s interests in Japan the absence of diplomatic ties, the ministry said.
TOURISM
‘Appeal’ draws visitors: Ma
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday attributed the growing number of tourists in recent years to an “irresistible appeal” resulting from government measures that have made the nation a more convenient and friendly environment for visitors. The number of visitors to the nation hit a record 8 million last year, with this year’s 7 million tourists so far making the 9 million mark possible by the end of this year, Ma said during a meeting with a group of Shanghai-based Taiwanese businesses. The trend shows the nation’s growing popularity and appeal among tourists, Ma said, adding that it could be a major source of foreign exchange income and considerably benefit the service industry. As an example of the nation’s lesser-known attractions, Ma said he had heard that some Hong Kong-based businesses reported that employees enjoyed surfing in Taitung over the weekend.
DIPLOMACY
Working holiday limit raised
Taiwan and Japan have agreed to raise the annual limit for their reciprocal working holiday program to 5,000 participants per nation per year, beginning on Oct. 27, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday. The Taiwan-Japan working holiday program began in June 2009, allowing an annual limit of 2,000 people aged between 18 and 30 from each nation to visit the other for up to one year for work and travel. The Interchange Association, Japan, which represents the country’s interests in Taiwan, said: “It will further promote youth exchanges and mutual understanding between Taiwan and Japan.” Taiwan has signed working holiday agreements with Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Korea, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, Hungary, Slovakia and the UK.
ECONOMY
Focus on old-economy firms
Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) yesterday gave the Ministry of Economic Affairs a directive to step up efforts to help with the transformation of businesses in the so-called “old-economy” sector and to increase their output. The old-economy sector plays a crucial role in the nation because it accounts for 90 percent of businesses and 70 percent of workers, Jiang said in a weekly Cabinet meeting. He made the remarks after hearing a progress report by the National Development Council on a project to remodel the old-economy sector. The project, launched in 2012 and set to run through 2019, covers 50 plans to promote the transformation of old-economy businesses, with the goal of developing at least five international brands, creating 25,000 new jobs, boosting exports by NT$200 billion (US$6.6 billion) and increasing private sector investment by NT$50 billion.
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