The government's new measures concerning cross-strait exchanges will take into consideration China's recent enactment of the "Anti-Secession" Law, the vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
Johnnason Liu (
The KMT legislative caucus invited officials from the MAC and the Council of Agriculture to report on the future course of cross-strait relations after hundreds of thousands of Taiwan people staged a march Saturday to protest against Beijing's newly-passed law.
KMT Legislator Su Chi (
Su asked what the government will do in addition to staging the March 26 protest. In response, Liu said, the government will not restrict cross-strait exchanges that are conducive to lowering tensions.
Noting that the private sector hopes to resume cross-strait talks and that the MAC said last month that cross-strait talks can be based on the bilateral discussions in Hong Kong in 1992, Su also asked about Beijing's response.
Liu also said that the government wants to forge a national consensus on a resumption of cross-strait dialogue.
Another KMT legislator, Kuo Su-chun (
In addition to exempting Taiwanese agricultural products from a 17 percent value-added tax, Guangzhou will also facilitate customs clearance, Kuo said, adding that the government should support the participation of Taiwanese agricultural products in the fair.
Chen Chieh (
Council Vice Chairman Lee Chien-chuan (
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
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai
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