A delegation led by Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) set off on a three-day visit to Shanghai yesterday morning to attend the annual Shanghai-Taipei Twin-City Forum, with Chiang saying that he would use the opportunity to facilitate the prosperous development of the capital and the nation.
“The Republic of China is a democratic country, so there will be contrasting opinions toward any important policy decision ... so we are very grateful and will value it,” Chiang told reporters before boarding a plane at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) yesterday morning.
Taiwan Republic Office director Chilly Chen (陳峻涵) was at the airport holding a sign that read: “The twin-city forum is the model for the ‘united front’ campaign,” and urged Chiang not to become a “chess piece” in China’s “united front” tactics toward Taiwan.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei City Government
Chen said that Chiang should not waste taxpayers’ money by attending the forum and instead focus on municipal administration.
Due to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intensifying its rhetoric and military coercion, Chiang, as mayor of Taipei, should use the forum as a platform to speak up for Taiwanese and protest against the CCP, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Chien Hsu-pei (簡舒培) said.
Chiang should ask the CCP to stop its malicious behavior toward Taiwan and express mutual friendliness, and if the CCP is unwilling to respond to his request, he should carefully consider whether Taipei should host the next annual forum, she said.
“Taipei is the most developed area in Taiwan, and as Taipei mayor I have a responsibility to grasp any opportunity to strive for the prosperous development of the city and the nation,” Chiang said, adding that no matter changes in party politics or cross-strait relations, the forum has served to maintain dialogue between the cities of Taipei and Shanghai.
He said that cross-strait relations are fraught, which is not something Taiwanese want to see, but steady trade and economic exchanges continue through the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, and while there is friction between the two sides on exports of agricultural and fisheries products, it needs to be solved through talks.
“Cross-strait relations are complicated and cannot be simplified to a few sentences, so there must be a mechanism for dialogue,” Chiang said, adding that action is needed resolve friction.
He said people should feel safe and assured that “our intention to value democracy, and maintain peace and prosperity remains consistent.”
Upon arriving at the airport in Shanghai at about 10am, Chiang and the delegation were greeted by Shanghai Vice Mayor Hua Yuan (華源).
Additional reporting by Chen Yu-fu
PALAU LAUNCHES: The source said that Taiwanese military personnel traveled to Palau, where a US brigade watched their work amid plans for a defense network The military last month participated in live-fire launches of MM-104F Patriot (PAC-3) missiles under US observation in an undisclosed location in Palau, a step forward in a US-led plan to create a joint defense missile system in the first island chain, a source said on condition of anonymity. The PAC-3 is the mainstay surface-to-air missile of the US, NATO and democratic nations in East Asia, the source said, adding that it has never been live-tested within Taiwan’s borders, the source said. The proximity of Taiwan to China and China’s close surveillance of the nation’s borders and nearby sea zones is a significant
IN MOURNING: Tsai visited the site and spoke with family members of those killed, while all the major presidential candidates said they would temporarily halt campaigning A fire and subsequent explosions at a golf ball factory at Pingtung Technology Industrial Park (屏東科技產業園區) killed at least seven people, including four firefighters, and injured 98, while three were still missing, authorities said yesterday. The blaze at Launch Technologies Co’s (明揚國際) plant on Jingjian Road raged for more than 12 hours after it started at about 5pm on Friday, officials said. The Pingtung County Fire Bureau early yesterday used large excavators to search for missing people, while family members waited at the scene. Pingtung County Fire Bureau Director Hsu Mei-hsueh (許美雪) said the bureau received a call about the fire at 5:31pm
DETERRENCE: The president on Thursday is to launch the first indigenous submarine, which is to enter sea trials next month before being delivered to the navy next year Taiwan hopes to deploy at least two new, domestically developed submarines by 2027, and possibly equip later models with missiles to bolster its deterrence against the Chinese navy and protect key supply lines, the head of the program said. Taiwan has made the Indigenous Submarine Program a key part of an ambitious project to modernize its armed forces as Beijing stages almost daily military exercises. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who initiated the program when she took office in 2016, is expected to launch the first of eight new submarines on Thursday under a plan that has drawn on expertise and technology from
FISHING FUROR: The latest spat was sparked by a floating barrier that was found across the entrance of Scarborough Shoal during a resupply mission to fishers Beijing yesterday warned Manila not to “stir up trouble” after the Philippine Coast Guard said it removed a floating barrier at a disputed reef that was allegedly deployed by China to block Filipino fishers from the area. Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in the South China Sea has long been a source of tension between the nations. China seized the ring of reefs from the Philippines in 2012 and has since deployed patrol boats. The latest spat was sparked by a 300m floating barrier that was found across the entrance of the shoal last week during a routine Philippine government resupply mission
RSS