A consultative committee of the Mainland Affairs Council has urged the government to launch a “track two” dialogue with China in a bid to further exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.
The suggestion was made at the first meeting of the committee since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office on May 20.
At the meeting, the attendees voiced concerns about the stalemate in exchanges between Taiwan and China since Tsai took office.
Cross-strait ties have been imbued by a sense of uncertainty following Tsai’s reluctance to recognize the so-called “1992 consensus.”
The “1992 consensus” — a term former council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Participants said that China’s internal political factors and economic conditions have also affected exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.
The council said attendees at the meeting suggested that in addition to the current official dialogue platform, invitations should be extended to think tanks and academics across the Taiwan Strait to hold talks in a bid to facilitate cross-strait dialogue.
China is still pushing for exchanges in the private sector and is reaching out to young Taiwanese, attendees said.
Council Deputy Minister Lin Cheng-yi (林振義) said that the government continues to monitor cross-strait ties and would implement any measures needed to adapt to the challenge of the relationship.
Lin said that the government is determined to keep all communication channels open and to maintain the existing dialogue mechanism and would keep its China policy consistent, predictable and sustainable.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
STAY VIGILANT: People should reduce the risk of chronic liver inflammation by avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and eating pickled foods, the physician said A doctor last week urged people to look for five key warning signs of acute liver failure after popular producer-turned-entertainer Shen Yu-lin (沈玉琳) was reportedly admitted to an intensive care unit for fulminant hepatitis. Fulminant hepatitis is the rapid and massive death of liver cells, impairing the organ’s detoxification, metabolic, protein synthesis and bile production functions, which if left untreated has a mortality rate as high as 80 percent, according to the Web site of Advancing Clinical Treatment of Liver Disease, an international organization focused on liver disease prevention and treatment. People with hepatitis B or C are at higher risk of