Japan on Saturday renewed its call for dialogue between China and Taiwan following Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou's (
In a statement after the result was confirmed, Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said: "Japan hopes that the issue surrounding Taiwan will be resolved peacefully by direct dialogue between the parties concerned on the Taiwan Straits [sic] and that dialogue will resume soon for that purpose."
The foreign minister insisted that Japan's diplomatic relations with China remained unchanged, saying: "It intends to maintain Japan-Taiwan relations as a working relationship on a non-governmental basis."
Singapore had similar views.
"We welcome the successful conclusion of Taiwan's presidential election ... and congratulate Dr Ma Ying-jeou on his election," a foreign ministry spokesman said late on Saturday.
"We look forward to better cross-strait relations," the spokesman said in a statement.
"We urge all parties to take advantage of this new opportunity to resume dialogue and work towards greater peace and prosperity in the region," he said.
Meanwhile, Beijing welcomed the failure of the Democratic Progressive Party-sponsored referendum, which asked whether Taiwan should apply to enter the UN under the name "Taiwan."
"[President] Chen Shui-bian's [陳水扁] administration put forth a referendum to join the United Nations under the name `Taiwan,' but that referendum has failed, which goes to show that the people are not in favor of those who advocate Taiwan independence," Li Weiyi (李維一), spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, told Taiwanese reporters in Beijing.
Beijing's major newspapers yesterday gave accounts of the referendums, putting them ahead of the election results, indicating the Chinese Communist Party views the failed vote favorably.
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
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
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