Steel manufacturers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have agreed to set up a channel for dialogue and conduct regular exchanges, Wang Chung-yu (王鍾渝), president of the Taiwan Steel & Iron Industrial Association (TSIIA, 台灣鋼鐵公會), said yesterday.
Wang, who returned to Taiwan Tuesday after leading a delegation of steel executives to Beijing, noted that the steel trade between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait has been brisk in recent years. He cited last year as an example, with mainland China exporting 2.24 million tons of bulk steel products -- like steel sheets and bars -- to Taiwan, the largest importer of bulk steel from the country.
Taiwan also exported 3.3 million tons of steel products to China last year, making the mainland the largest export destination for Taiwan steel products.
In view of the brisk steel trade across the strait, Wang said that his delegation recently visited Beijing to meet with its China counterpart, the Iron & Steel Industry Association (ISIA, 中國鋼鐵工業協會), hoping to build communication channels between the two and to avoid trade clashes after the entry of both sides into the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Wang's delegation included Tung Ho Steel Enterprise (東和鋼鐵) Chairman Ho Tseng-hsiung (侯貞雄), chairman of Feng Hsin Iron & Steel Co (豐興鋼鐵), Lin Ming-ju (林明儒) and Chou Juo-chi (鄒若齊), vice president of China Steel Corp (中鋼).
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about 1,900 as
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
The WHO ignored early COVID-19 warnings from Taiwan, US Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on Friday, as part of justification for Washington withdrawing from the global health body. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said that the US was pulling out of the UN agency, as it failed to fulfill its responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO “ignored early COVID warnings from Taiwan in 2019 by pretending Taiwan did not exist, O’Neill wrote on X on Friday, Taiwan time. “It ignored rigorous science and promoted lockdowns.” The US will “continue international coordination on infectious
RSS