Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) yesterday expressed reservations after Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Chuang Chi-wang (莊啟旺) on Monday invited Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) to hold the sixth round of cross-strait negotiations in Kaohsiung.
Chen Chu told reporters at the city government that she respected Chuang’s idea, but said that any cross-strait meetings should be transparent and subject to the oversight of the legislature, the public and the media.
‘COMFORTABLE’
“I believe what’s more important is whether Taiwanese are comfortable with the agenda of the meeting,” said Chen Chu, a founder of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
“We look forward to seeing the meetings between Chen and [Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman] Chiang [Pin-kung (江丙坤)] open to the Taiwanese public. If so, no matter where the meeting is held, even in Kaohsiung — an international port and free city — we will all welcome the meeting,” the mayor said.
Chen Chu’s comment came after Chuang extended an invitation to Chen Yunlin during a visit to Beijing on Monday.
INVITATION
Chuang, a member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), is leading a delegation of local hoteliers and businesspeople to promote Kaohsiung in China.
Chen Yunlin responded to the invitation by saying that he would love to see the plan come to fruition.
KMT and DPP councilors were divided on whether the sixth round of negotiation meeting should be held in Kaohsiung, a traditional DPP stronghold and historical base of the opposition movement.
‘SELL OUT’
“He’s here to talk about nothing but how to sell out Taiwan. Then why does he need to come [to Kaohsiung]? I will never welcome him,” DPP Councilor Huang Chao-hsing (黃昭星) said.
However, KMT Councilor Tung Yen-chen (童燕珍) said this would be an opportunity to “let Chen Yunlin know that Kaohsiung is a friendly city.”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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