Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) confirmed yesterday that the MAC's first deputy, Lin Chong-pin (林中斌), resigned his post on Thursday, effective immediately.
The council will now seek a replacement.
The council's two other vice chairmen, Chen Ming-tong (
Tsai also indicated the MAC's willingness to respond positively to recent overtures from China.
Lin, an academic specializing in the China's People's Liberation Army, had expressed his desire to leave his post some weeks ago.
Lin said he had already exhausted his usefulness to the MAC after spending six years on the job, and told the Taipei Times in a recent interview that, given the choice, he wished to return to academia.
It is widely rumored, however, that he is to be offered a post on the National Security Council.
In addition there has been speculation that Taiwan Solidarity Union Secretary-General Shu Chin-chiang (蘇進強) might be appointed to succeed Lin. Shu is a former career soldier known to be close to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Tsai announced Lin's resignation at the MAC's regular weekly news conference yesterday.
She also said that Chen would temporarily replace Lin as the MAC's chief spokesperson.
Tsai said yesterday that the MAC does not yet have a "concrete plan" for an exchange of opinions with China on the establishment of a cross-strait mechanism for economic cooperation.
New Premier Yu Shyi-kun remarked in his inaugural speech yesterday that he agreed with Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen's (錢其琛) recent comments on exchanging opinions.
Yu had also said in his speech that he was considering sending "related persons" to China to discuss issues such as a cross-strait investment protection agreement, the Small Three Links, and the dispute over what Yu called the "1992 talk," a reference to what China and its allies in Taiwan usually refer to as the "1992 consensus."
Tsai said yesterday that the question of when such people will be dispatched "depends on follow-up interaction between the two sides, but we can study the matter further."
Tsai added that the MAC would "adopt the necessary active measures" during exchanges between the two sides.
In response to questions about the MAC's plans for the coming year, Tsai said, "We hope to resume the dialogue between the two sides."
"We will adopt any measure which will help stabilize cross-strait relations," Tsai said.
Acknowledging that both Taiwan and China face challenges following their accessions to the WTO, she added, "Stable cross-strait relations are the common wish of both sides."
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
NEGOTIATIONS: The US response to the countermeasures and plans Taiwan presented has been positive, including boosting procurement and investment, the president said Taiwan is included in the first group for trade negotiations with the US, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he seeks to shield Taiwanese exporters from a 32 percent tariff. In Washington, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday that he would speak to his Taiwanese and Israeli counterparts yesterday about tariffs after holding a long discussion with the Vietnamese earlier. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday postponed punishing levies on multiple trade partners, including Taiwan, for three months after trillions of US dollars were wiped off global markets. He has maintained a 10 percent
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS