The government has put on hold a planned countermeasure against China that was announced in June to restrict Chinese officials from visiting Taiwan after Panama switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, sources said yesterday.
Panama cut formal ties with Taiwan on June 13 while endorsing Beijing’s “one China” principle.
The government at the time said it would take necessary countermeasures to limit cross-strait exchanges, as China had unilaterally restricted Taiwanese officials and academics from visiting China over the past year, resulting in an imbalance of cross-strait exchanges.
However, while Taiwan’s China affairs officials have announced that they were still formulating the exact countermeasures, government sources said the administration has determined that no changes would be made to cross-strait policy.
The government has re-evaluated the cross-strait exchanges, but there are no plans to make any changes to laws or regulations, the sources said.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) policy of maintaining the “status quo” with Beijing remains the most stable and viable option, sources close to the Democratic Progressive Party said.
The government encourages interactions between Taiwanese and Chinese officials and although China has unilaterally imposed restrictions on Taiwanese officials and academics, the government will not retaliate, party sources said.
The government is assessing the dependence of Taiwan on China to build a national security and self-defense mechanism in a bid to lessen that dependence, the sources said, adding that the government is going through all the details and it needs more wisdom and patience to complete the process.
Chinese officials have visited local officials in Taiwan and established a relationship with Taiwan’s private sector, undisclosed sources said.
The government, following exchanges with the private sector, is concerned about the effects of a possible restriction against Chinese officials on the private sector, they said.
Taiwanese businesses have opposed banning Chinese officials from visiting Taiwan, a contributing factor that has prompted the government to withhold from taking any countermeasures, they said.
Regarding the management of cross-strait exchanges, Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said the council would continue to evaluate cross-strait policies and improve management mechanisms to direct cross-strait exchanges in the direction of a normal, healthy, sustainable and thriving relationship to improve mutual understanding and trust while seeking a new mode of interaction.
Chinese officials would still be barred from visiting Taiwan if they are found to enter the nation with a false identity, suspected of violating human rights or participating in highly political activities or if they have been invited to Taiwan predominantly by the same organizations, Chiu said.
Taiwanese scientists have engineered plants that can capture about 50 percent more carbon dioxide and produce more than twice as many seeds as unmodified plants, a breakthrough they hope could one day help mitigate global warming and grow more food staples such as rice. If applied to major food crops, the new system could cut carbon emissions and raise yields “without additional equipment or labor costs,” Academia Sinica researcher and lead author the study Lu Kuan-jen (呂冠箴) said. Academia Sinica president James Liao (廖俊智) said that as humans emit 9.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with the 220 billion tonnes absorbed
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
China’s plan to deploy a new hypersonic ballistic missile at a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) base near Taiwan likely targets US airbases and ships in the western Pacific, but it would also present new threats to Taiwan, defense experts said. The New York Times — citing a US Department of Defense report from last year on China’s military power — on Monday reported in an article titled “The missiles threatening Taiwan” that China has stockpiled 3,500 missiles, 1.5 times more than four years earlier. Although it is unclear how many of those missiles were targeting Taiwan, the newspaper reported
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