Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Yao Jen-to (姚人多) was yesterday elected as vice chairman and secretary-general of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF).
Yao’s election was confirmed by the board of the foundation, spokeswoman Kuan An-lu (管安露) said.
Following his confirmation, Yao said he would work with the foundation’s staff to handle cross-strait affairs based on the principle of serving the interests of people on the both sides of the Taiwan Strait, Kuan said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Asked how Yao’s stance on Taiwanese independence might affect his job, Kuan said that politics should not influence people-to-people exchanges between Taiwan and China, adding that the two sides of the strait have engaged in exchanges for more than 30 years.
Taiwan has always kept an open mind about cross-strait exchanges and would not turn down opportunities for communication with pro-unification factions in China, Kuan said.
During a public forum in 2013, Yao, at the time an associate professor of sociology at National Tsing Hua University, said that Taiwanese independence had lost its place in the mainstream and urged the Democratic Progressive Party to facilitate democratization in China by promoting Taiwan’s experiences in furthering democracy, freedom and human rights.
Yao on Wednesday resigned from his Presidential Office position to take up the new role, Kuan said.
Yao is a capable person who would contribute to the positive development of cross-strait relations, foundation chairwoman Katharine Chang (張小月) said.
The foundation would in August or September set up a telephone hotline to provide information to young people who wish to study in China, she said.
It would also continue to improve its services for China-based Taiwanese businesses, Chinese spouses of Taiwanese and Chinese students in Taiwan, Chang added.
Additional reporting by staff writer
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
RSS