Taichung city mayor Jason Hu (
"We should be able to work out `softer' issues with China, such as cultural exchanges and tourism," said Hu. "However, China's attitude is resistant. They refuse to address anything else until the difficult issue of Taiwan's sovereignty is resolved."
Hu made his remarks at a discussion seminar on improving Taiwan's international image in Taipei yesterday as part of the Taiwanese branch of the renowned International Association of Students in Economics and Management's (AIESEC) Asia-Pacific leadership seminar and local committee meeting.
Yesterday's discussion, also included guest speakers Wu Rong-i (
Drawing upon his past experience as foreign minister, Hu shared memories of numerous instances where Chinese pressure had limited international sympathy for Taiwan to empty words of condolence. To solve this problem, speakers yesterday emphasized tourism and technology as areas in which to foster good impressions of Taiwan in the international arena.
The key to the successful international promotion of Taiwan will depend on the presentation of the nation's youth, said Hu.
He urged people to stop talking about politics and instead focus on the character of Taiwan's rising generation, which is becoming more energetic, and globalized.
The discussion was the first event of the annual conference, which will run through Aug. 14 in Taipei.
To learn more about conference activities, see the event's webpage at www.aplds2004taiwan.net.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
EVERYONE’S ISSUE: Kim said that during a visit to Taiwan, she asked what would happen if China attacked, and was told that the global economy would shut down Taiwan is critical to the global economy, and its defense is a “here and now” issue, US Representative Young Kim said during a roundtable talk on Taiwan-US relations on Friday. Kim, who serves on the US House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, held a roundtable talk titled “Global Ties, Local Impact: Why Taiwan Matters for California,” at Santiago Canyon College in Orange County, California. “Despite its small size and long distance from us, Taiwan’s cultural and economic importance is felt across our communities,” Kim said during her opening remarks. Stanford University researcher and lecturer Lanhee Chen (陳仁宜), lawyer Lin Ching-chi
A pro-Russia hacker group has launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on the Taiwanese government in retaliation for President William Lai’s (賴清德) comments suggesting that China should have a territorial dispute with Russia, an information security company said today. The hacker group, NoName057, recently launched an HTTPs flood attack called “DDoSia” targeting Taiwanese government and financial units, Radware told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). Local tax bureaus in New Taipei City, Keelung, Hsinchu and Taoyuan were mentioned by the hackers. Only the Hsinchu Local Tax Bureau site appeared to be down earlier in the day, but was back