Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Joseph Wu (
According to the Liberty Times report yesterday, Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) lawmakers, who oppose direct flights, pressured the Cabinet recently to scrap negotiations, resulting in the council temporarily halting the talks with China on establishing direct charter flights. The stall in negotiations has in turn pushed back the timeline for further opening up the country to Chinese tourists to early next year, the report added.
"The report is misleading," Wu said in the Home and Nations legislative committee meeting yesterday, adding that China and Taiwan continue to "exchange views and opinions" on cross-strait tourism and direct charter flights.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Responding to accusations from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Ching-hua (
"China has shown no willingness to hammer out out a definitive agreement with us on direct flights," Wu said.
"But that's because you insist on entering negotiations with China as the `Republic of Taiwan,' with direct, cross-strait flights being international flights," Lee shot back.
The lawmaker also cited an annual position paper released on Thursday by the European Chamber of Commerce in Taipei that urged the government to normalize relations with China to ensure economic survival. That report, along with the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei's white papers, have called on Taiwan to establish direct flights with China to maintain the country's competitiveness, Lee said.
"European and US businesses are pulling out [due in part to the problems that occur with direct flights]. Taiwanese businesses, meanwhile, have already pulled out," Lee said, adding that the council shouldn't allow the TSU to "hijack" direct flight negotiations.
Wu for his part insisted that while obstacles remain in negotiating with China, the two sides continue to talk, and he called on the legislature to unfreeze the council's budget.
Half of the council's annual NT$680 million (US$20.47 million) has been frozen by pan-blue lawmakers since January due to their dissatisfaction with the council's management of cross-strait relations. Lee yesterday said that the council was incompetent and he wouldn't support unfreezing portions of the council's budget.
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
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
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
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