Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission Minister Lin Mei-chu (林美珠) yesterday said the commission will likely move toward merging with another ministry.
Lin made the remark in her first report to the Legislative Yuan since assuming office, as she fielded questions from lawmakers on the controversial issue of whether the commission should be dissolved or its duties merged into other ministries.
People First Party Legislator Chen Yi-chieh (陳怡潔) said public opinion favored dissolution of the commission.
Chen added that Lin’s report sounded “as if she was preparing to finish the tasks of the last chairperson,” so she asked Lin to comment on the issue.
“After so many years of discussion, there is already a certain consensus among political parties, and that is frankly speaking, with the current powers, functions and organization of the commission, it lacks resources to become a ministry on its own,” Lin said.
“Moving toward dissolving [the commission] or merging [with other agencies] is in line with the government’s policy directions, so we are not against it,” she added.
Whether the commission is dissolved or merged, the government must continue to handle Mongolian and Tibetan affairs, including academic, cultural, economic and professional personnel issues, Lin said.
When Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) asked which ministry the commission should be merged with and when, Lin said more discussion was needed to clarify what affairs would remain the key focus before a reorganization, adding that the timing was not up to the commission.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) said reorganizing the commission would touch upon issues such as political refugees from Tibet and cultural exchanges, so comprehensive planning is needed before the commission is dissolved or merged with another government agency.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the meeting next month, Japanese sources said The holding of a Japan-US leaders’ meeting ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China is positive news for Taiwan, former Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association representative Hiroyasu Izumi said yesterday. After the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in Japan’s House of Representatives election, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit the US next month, where she is to meet with Trump ahead of the US president’s planned visit to China from March 31 to April 2 for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the
RSS