Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤), the nation’s chief negotiator with China, arrived in Nanjing, China, yesterday morning on a mission to seal three agreements and one joint statement with China.
The highlight of Chiang’s visit will be a meeting today with his Chinese counterpart, Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林).
The two sides are expected to sign three agreements on the launch of regular cross-strait passenger flights, financial cooperation and mutual judicial assistance and cross-strait cooperation to fight crime. Any consensus reached on opening Taiwan to Chinese investment would be covered in a joint statement.
PHOTO: CNA
Representatives of the SEF and ARATS held a preparatory meeting yesterday to finalize the text of the agreements and the joint statement.
Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛), who was at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to see off Chiang and his delegation, promised that the SEF’s negotiations with ARATS would be conducted in accordance with the principles of equality and dignity and would uphold the interests of Taiwan and its people.
During the talks, Chiang is also likely to raise a proposal for Taiwan and China to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) as instructed by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) during their meeting on Friday.
Ma has argued that if Taiwan does not sign such an agreement with China, it risks being marginalized and losing its competitiveness because China and neighboring countries are planning to sign free-trade agreements.
Critics, however, warned that the ECFA could jeopardize Taiwan’s sovereignty and make it too economically dependent on China.
Defining the ECFA as an accord about “tariff reduction” and “fair trade,” Lai yesterday said it was essential to normalizing cross-strait trade.
Addressing concerns about the negative impact of the ECFA on local businesses, Lai said in an interview with a radio station in Taichung yesterday that there would be supplementary measures in place and that the government would only open industries that could benefit from and attract Chinese investment.
They will not include industries involved in high-tech development or national security, she said.
A pact on judicial assistance and cooperation to fight crime will allow for the repatriation of Taiwanese fugitives in China to face justice, she said. Of the 85 major Taiwanese economic criminals who have fled to China over the past 10 years, only one has been returned to Taiwan, she said.
Lai said the two sides would also discuss “fifth freedom of the air,” or the right of airlines to operate connecting flights, during the Chiang-Chen meeting, but it would not be the focus of the meeting because of its technical complexity.
Fifth freedom of the air means that an airline can carry passengers from one country to another, and then on to a third country. Beijing has been reluctant to discuss the matter because it touches on the issue of sovereignty.
Also See: Financial deal is ‘ticket’ to Chinese market: FSC head
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS