China has lodged a diplomatic protest with India over a visit by a legislative delegation from Taiwan, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.
Three Taiwanese lawmakers, led by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲), began their visit to New Delhi on Monday.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang (耿爽) told a regular press briefing in Beijing that China had lodged “solemn representations” with the Indian government over the issue.
Photo: CNA
“We have always been resolutely opposed to any country with diplomatic relations with China having any form of official exchanges — or establishment of any official institutions — with Taiwan. This position is consistent and clear-cut,” he said.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the visit was informal.
“Such informal groups have visited India in the past as well for business, religious and tourist purposes. I understand that they do so to China as well. There is nothing new or unusual about such visits, and political meanings should not be read into them,” the ministry said in a statement.
A DPP official in Taipei said the legislators, who were scheduled to return to Taiwan yesterday, were also in India to visit Taiwanese companies, such as China Steel, Taiwan’s biggest steel maker, which has a plant there.
Despite efforts by China and India to improve ties over recent years, deep suspicions remain, especially over a festering border dispute.
Beijing has increasingly squeezed Taiwan’s international space following President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) election last year.
A longstanding African ally of Taiwan’s, San Tome and Principe, switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing in December last year.
“We have been requiring countries which have diplomatic relations with China to fulfill their commitment to the ‘one China’ principle,” Geng said.
Kuan said on Facebook yesterday that while there is also a legislative delegation currently visiting the US and another one that just returned from Malaysia and, by coincidence, met the Malaysian minister of tourism and culture, “China targeted the delegation to India by lodging a high-profile diplomatic protest, despite having said nothing about Taiwan’s other two visits.”
She said Beijing’s strong protest indicates that it does not want to see Taiwan strengthen its ties with India, which could be achieved with Taiwan’s “new southbound policy.”
“India has been a loophole in Taiwan’s diplomacy, and an incredible one,” for India is vital in maintaining Asia’s regional security and has a huge market, Kuan said, adding that Taiwan’s unfamiliarity with India has made exchange tenuous, and Taiwan should therefore be determined to correct the loophole when carrying out the new policy.
Separately yesterday, CS Huang (黃清山), chairman of Nan Liu Enterprise Co, the second-largest nonwoven fabric manufacturer in Asia, said that the company plans to build a factory in Gujarat state, hometown of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While traveling with the trade delegation led by Kuan, Huang said that his company would invest US$20 million in the project and sees vast business potential in India.
He expects the factory to be completed in the latter half of next year, adding that once mass production starts, it could generate up to 1 billion rupees (US$14 million) in the first year and 6 billion rupees within the first five to six years.
Additional reporting by Alison Hsiao and CNA
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS