Taiwan's leading shipping tycoon, who endorsed President Chen Shui-bian's (
Yesterday's statement by Evergreen Group Chairman Chang Yung-fa (
PHOTO: LIU LI-JEN, TAIPEI TIMES
Chang stopped short of naming his preferred candidate, but left little room for doubt when he called on voters to support the candidate who promised better ties with arch-foe China.
The main issue dividing the contenders is their policy towards China, with incumbent Chen espousing a policy that sees Taiwan as independent while Nationalist Party leader Lien Chan (
"Which presidential candidate can bring us a life of peace, stability, prosperity, and well-being? The answer should be fairly clear," Chang said in a statement.
"The ideal candidate must ... be able to build a peaceful, stable and harmonious cross-Strait relationship in order to lead us to re-create Taiwan's economic miracle," Chang said.
Chang was a member of an advisory panel to Chen led by Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh (
In an eleventh-hour show of support, Lee, the 1986 Nobel winner in chemistry, backed Chen for the second time in a row but tempered his move with reservations about Chen's first term.
Chang said he had met Wang Yung-ching (
Chang, who has set his sights on the vast China market, turned down an offer to be a senior adviser to Chen in 2002.
Businessmen such as tycoons Chang and Wang have been clamoring for the lifting of a decades-old ban on direct sea and air links with the China to save time and reduce costs.
Despite testy political ties, Taiwan investors have poured more than US$100 billion into China since detente first began in the late 1980s, lured by low land and labor costs as well as a common language and culture.
The Evergreen Group consists of Evergreen Marine, the world's third largest shipping line, EVA Airways and Uniglory Marine. It has set up offices in a dozen Chinese cities and invested heavily in joint ventures in China.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
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