Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) yesterday denied a media report that China had asked her to recognize the so-called “1992 consensus” before she would be allowed to visit the country next month. Chen, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, said she has no plans to visit China at the moment.
The Chinese-language Next Magazine yesterday reported that Chen had planned to pay a visit to a northeastern region of China next month, but the plan was dropped after China demanded that Chen recognize the “1992 consensus” as a precondition for the visit.
Asked to comment on the report, Chen said: “The city’s Tourism Bureau is planning a visit to China next month; as for me, I don’t have such a plan at the moment.”
Chen added that she has always believed that, when it is beneficial for the development of the city and for cross-strait relations, there should be more frequent cross-strait exchanges.
“The two sides [of the Taiwan Strait] should work together to create a mutually friendly atmosphere by putting aside their differences while finding similarities,” Chen said, adding that there were very good interactions between the two countries when Kaohsiung hosted the World Games in 2009 and the Asia-Pacific Cities Summit in 2013.
Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Fan Liqing (范麗青) said China welcomes all organizations, government agencies at different levels and individuals from Taiwan, as long as they support the “1992 consensus,” oppose Taiwanese independence, and agree with the idea that Taiwan and China are “one country.”
The “1992 consensus” refers to a supposed tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party that both Taiwan and China acknowledge there is “one China, with each side having its own interpretation of what that means.”
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
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