The former administration’s “diplomatic truce” policy belied the nation’s diplomatic predicament as Taiwan continues to face challenges caused by pressure from China, Premier Lin Chuan (林全) said yesterday.
“We were led to believe that there was no diplomatic predicament under the so-called ‘diplomatic truce policy,’ but the predicament remains and we have to face it,” Lin said during a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan.
“If our participation in international organizations depends on China’s ‘charity,’ [Taiwan’s international presence] is an illusion,” Lin said in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) about the government’s foreign policy.
Saying China has suppressed Taiwan’s international space by forcing its exclusion from this year’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) assembly in Canada and the UN Climate Change Conference (COP22) in Morocco, Huang asked whether the government is to scale down diplomatic presence as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prepares to close some embassies and overseas missions.
The ministry’s plan is aimed at a more efficient allocation of the government’s limited resources, not reducing diplomatic operations, Lin said, adding that the nation has to expand its international space by its own means.
The government aims to establish rapport with China on the basis of bilateral goodwill, Lin said, calling on Beijing to act more rationally.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) asked if Lin was to become an “Executive Yuan chief executive officer” under President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) weekly policy coordination mechanism, with Tsai interfering with Lin’s authority.
Chen asked whether Tsai would impose her authority on the premier if there is a disagreement on major issues such as a proposed bill to implement a five-day workweek with a mandatory day off and a flexible “rest day.”
Lin said he would not disagree with the president on major issues because they always reach a consensus through discussions, but he also would not be a mere instrument of the president.
The weekly policy coordination meetings between the president and the Executive Yuan could facilitate policy implementation and allow the Executive Yuan to clarify policies and collect different opinions, Lin said.
In response to legislators saying that proposed legislation for a five-day workweek is aimed at eliminating seven national holidays, Lin said there was no problem of cutting national holidays.
“The legislation has been interpreted as an attempt to reduce holidays by seven days, which is not correct,” the premier said.
“There is no problem of reducing holidays, but the aim is to unify the nation’s various leave schemes,” he said.
Although the government is to cancel some holidays, there will be supportive measures in place such as the five-day workweek and modifications to the annual leave system, so the legislation should not simply be understood as cutting seven holidays, he said.
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