Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma promised to push for the nation's participation in East Asian integration after normalizing cross-strait economic relations with China.
"It should be easy to negotiate with China on the economic relationship, as closer economic ties will benefit both sides. We don't need to ask that Beijing remove its missiles to discuss economic cooperation," Ma said at the Taipei Mayor's Salon yesterday.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
MISSILES
Asking China to remove missiles targeting Taiwan will be necessary only when negotiating with Beijing on a peace agreement or other matters pertaining to national security, he said.
Ma criticized the DPP for turning the nation's economy into "dead water," victimizing low-income families and small businesses while contributing to rising unemployment.
Accompanied by his running mate, Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), Ma pledged to revive the economy and encourage Taiwanese to invest their foreign capital -- evaluated to be worth about NT$4 trillion (US$123 billion) -- back in Taiwan.
OTHER SECTORS
Ma and Siew promised that if elected they would push for the development of tourism as well as the medical and financial industries, which they said would create 50,000 jobs.
While vowing to bolster the economy with the development of the service industry, Ma said he would not ignore environmental protection, promising to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make environmental sustainability part of his economic policies.
To further connect with international markets, Ma said he would seek to strengthen ties with ASEAN countries, with the goal of joining the augmented version of the regional organization after successfully normalizing economic relations with China.
AVIATION
In addition to opening up cross-strait direct links, Ma promised to establish "twin golden flight circles" involving the airports in Taiwan, Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Gimpo Airport in Seoul and Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai.
Ma also promised to revise the cap on investment in China and open Taiwan to more Chinese tourists.
Siew said that with the opening to Chinese tourists, New Taiwan dollar and yuan exchange services would also be opened across the nation.
Asked to comment on the recent performance of the stock market, Siew said that unlike President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) when he was seeking re-election in 2004, he and Ma would not promise to bring the market to more than 10,000 points, adding that improving the overall economy would help stabilize the stock market.
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
RSS