Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday called for more flexibility in organizing charter flights for the Lunar New Year holidays to better serve Taiwanese businesspeople stranded in China because of heavy snow.
Hsieh made the remarks during a visit to Hung Chi-chang (
Hsieh called on Taipei and Beijing to take into account whether the charter flight plan was convenient for Taiwanese businesspeople and consider extending the duration of the service and changing or adding more airports to the service.
The Mainland Affairs Council has said that this year's Lunar New Year charter flights will be implemented based on the 2006 negotiations, under which a total of 96 flights will fly between Taipei and Kaohsiung and the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen.
The service first took place in 2003 to facilitate travel during the holiday period.
"Taiwan initially suggested that four more airports in China be included this year, but China agreed only to the four cities, citing the [original] agreement," Hung said.
Hung said the heavy snow that had stranded tens of thousands of travelers in China might be a chance for the both sides of the Strait to "make a breakthrough."
If Beijing would like to follow the "Macau Model," it might be possible to make last-minute adjustments to the airports used for the service, Hung said.
The model refers to the practice where both sides authorize representatives with government power to negotiate on issues under names acceptable to both sides.
"Despite tensions between the two sides of the Strait, humanitarian concerns should not be left behind. China should adopt a flexible way to deal with the problem if it is sincere in helping Taiwanese businesspeople avoid inconvenience," Hsieh said.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe