The nation's Republican (or minguo, 民國) calendar will not be abandoned in favor of the Gregorian calendar unless the majority of the public agrees to the plan, the Cabinet said yesterday.
"This does not concern politics. It is only a proposal to help us and our country communicate with foreign friends more easily," Government Information Office Minister and Cabinet Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (
Reports
Cheng made the remarks yesterday morning in response to a story in the Chinese-language daily the United Daily News, which reported that the Cabinet had given official notice to the Ministry of the Interior asking it to begin evaluating the proposal to change the calendar system.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet's Research, Development and Evaluation Commission said there would be no difficulty in carrying out such a policy, but that political issues could get in the way that might be difficult for the government to overcome.
Dismissal
"We have yet issued any notice to the ministry. In addition, it is not the ministry's job to evaluate the proposal. It is the commission's, actually," Cheng said. "The commission has completed its report and submitted it to the Cabinet. The premier asked that for a slowdown, review and re-consideration of the entire proposal because it also concerns a lot of changes on related mechanisms. If we want to do it, we will have to do it gradually."
The idea to change the calendar system was first put forward by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Tai-hua (
Su expressed support for the change.
Majority rules
Speaking on behalf of the premier, Cheng said that more time and money -- as well as the support of the majority of Taiwan's citizens -- would be required before the Cabinet changes the calendar system.
"We will handle this case carefully and gradually," Cheng added.
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
RSS