■ Diplomacy
Ministry planning direct links
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications will soon begin to work on the technical details pertaining to direct links based on the timetable that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) announced last year, a ministry official said yesterday. Lin Chih-ming (林志明), director of the Department of Navigation and Aviation, said that with Chen's victory, the issue of direct transportation links has now become one of the focuses of attention. Lin said the ministry will soon launch technical planning on Chen's "three-stage" timetable -- namely preparation, negotiation and implementation -- on the opening of direct shipping and air links across the Taiwan Strait. According to Chen's timetable, Lin said, negotiations are to start shortly, paving the way for the implementation of direct transport links by the end of the year. Lin said that the ministry completed an overall assessment on Taiwan's opening of direct transport links based on the "three-stage" timetable and submitted it to the Mainland Affairs Council for the council's reference last year.
■ Diplomacy
Dialogue with China urged
New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff said yesterday Taiwan's election offered an opportunity to restore momentum to dialogue with China and urged the Taiwanese government to avoid unnecessary confrontation. Goff said the principal challenge facing the new government was to re-engage with Beijing in a constructive way. Noting that cross-strait stability was central to regional security, he said: "I hope that Taiwan will not do anything that could jeopardize the measured way in which relations between Taipei and Beijing have progressed in recent years. The true exercise of democracy requires leaders to provide leadership based on rational analysis of long-term interests. There is too much at stake, not only for Taiwan, for any acts of unnecessary confrontation." Goff welcomed the high turnout for the election, and the generally peaceful way in which it was conducted. Meanwhile, Japan said yesterday it would stick to its "one China" policy whatever the outcome of the election. "Whatever happens, Japan's position will not change," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told a news conference.
■ Diplomacy
Another try at WHO
This year Taiwan will seek to enter the World Health Organization (WHO) using "pragmatism and dignity," a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said yesterday. Tung Kuo-yu (董國猷), director- general of the foreign ministry's Department of International Organizations, made the remarks while attending a seminar on Taiwan's WHO bid sponsored by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission. Tung said the ministry has actively promoted the participation of Taiwan in the WHO since 1997, and he believes that all political parties and all people agree that Taiwan should be included in the organization. Tung said the ministry will highlight Taiwan's sovereignty while taking into consideration international realities in the hope that Taiwan can achieve the best possible results from limited resources.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
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
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
RSS