President Chen Shui-bian (
"Although challenges abound on this road ahead, as long as we believe in the value of this common mission and in ourselves, there is no obstacle too great or mountain too high," said Chen, who made the remarks last night at a banquet held by the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham).
The banquet was attended by around 550 people, including Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and American Institute in Taipei deputy director David Keegan.
Although Brokeback Mountain revolved around the issue of same-sex relationships, its most profound lesson transcends the love affairs in the movie, Chen said.
"It motivates us to understand that all of us are bound to make a difficult decision in life; yet we must strive to dispel prejudice, create trust, uphold mutual respect, and seek ways to reconcile and cooperate with one another, because only by so doing can we together reach the frontier of a `great new world,'" he said.
During the speech, Chen also reiterated the importance of the government's new cross-strait economic policy of "active management, effective opening."
Pressed to comment on Chen's analogy, Ma said last night that for US-Taiwan relations to be like the characters in Brokeback Mountain, both parties needed to trust each other.
The two main characters in the movie knew what the other was thinking and doing at all times, and did not spring "surprises" on each other, Ma said.
When questioned about the president's ongoing plan to disband the National Unification Council (NUC), AmCham president Tom Johnson said that although national security is a basic need which Taiwan is entitled to pursue, a strong economy will also add to the nation's overall security.
Johnson said that the foreign business community's confidence in the nation's investment environment remains strong and unaffected by the government's plan to abolish the NUC.
"I think it's very positive to invest in Taiwan ... You can see a lot of companies putting [money] into their infrastructure to support these. I do think you'll continue to see investments. These are very exciting areas," Johnson said.
Johnson said that Chen's Brokeback Mountain analogy demonstrates the value of cooperation.
EVA Airways was ranked the eighth-best airline in the world for this year, the only Taiwanese carrier to make it into the top 25 Airline Excellence Awards this year, aviation reviews Web site AirlineRatings.com said on Wednesday. AirlineRatings.com has a seven-star rating system to evaluate more than 360 airlines around the world every year, EVA Airways said in a statement on Thursday. “We are delighted that efforts by the entire EVA staff have been recognized by Airline Ratings,” EVA Airways president Clay Sun (孫嘉明) said in the release. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company identified and adopted services and procedures that enhance and
Exiled Chinese democracy advocate Wang Dan (王丹) yesterday denied an accusation by former Taiwanese political worker Lee Yuan-chun (李援軍) that Wang had sexually harassed him in a hotel room in New York nine years ago. There was a huge gap between Lee’s accusation and his own understanding and memory, Wang wrote on Facebook, adding it was hard for him to respond further regarding a “unilateral description” made by someone else. Wang made the remarks after his initial response on Facebook was met with criticism, with people saying he did not directly address the allegation. Lee on Friday wrote on Facebook that he
MORE WARNINGS: If the US company does not clarify and solve issues with its frozen berries, the FDA might extend an import suspension implemented last month, it said The Kaohsiung Department of Health yesterday said it fined Costco NT$4.5 million (US$146,265) over contaminated frozen strawberries, while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that although the US company had filed an improvement plan, an import suspension on frozen berries could remain. Three types of frozen berry products imported and sold by Costco have tested positive for the hepatitis A virus since April. The Kaohsiung health department previously fined Costco NT$300,000 for not providing the sales list of a contaminated batch of Kirkland Signature Three Berry Blend imported from Chile, in contravention of the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法). It later
‘NEGLIGENCE’: After reporting the incident, her superior allegedly asked her why she did not scream, which was an inappropriate attempt to ignore the allegations, critics said An accusation of sexual harassment led to the resignation of a top Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) official, while President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has called for a thorough investigation into the incident involving a contractor. Vice President and DPP Chairman William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said he approved the resignation of DPP deputy secretary-general Hsu Chia-tien (許嘉恬), who headed the party’s Women’s Development Department when the alleged incident happened in September last year. “Gender equality is among our party’s core values, that we have strived for and advanced along with Taiwanese society,” Lai said. “The DPP did not handle it appropriately at the time,