■ DIPLOMACY
Ma meets congresswoman
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) met US Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, a California Democrat, yesterday at the Presidential Office and described good Taiwan-US relations as something Taiwanese were looking forward to seeing. Since assuming office, Ma said, he has done his best to “rebuild” mutual trust between Taiwan and the US, adding that ties have rapidly improved despite minor incidents such as the dispute surrounding restrictions on US beef imports. Ma expressed his appreciation to Sanchez, a member of the Committee on Armed Services in the House of Representatives, for US approval of two military sales to Taiwan over the past two years, which he said underscored the friendship between Taiwanese and Americans. Ma also called for strengthened security cooperation between the two sides and a resumption of two-way talks over a long-delayed trade and investment framework agreement. He also urged the US to grant visa-waiver privileges to Taiwan.
■ SOCIETY
Group marks Parkinson’s Day
A group of about 300 people with Parkinson’s disease went on an outing in Nantou County yesterday to mark World Parkinson’s Day. The participants, some of whom are confined to a wheelchair, gathered at Chung Hsing New Village for a walk despite their challenged mobility, while others went cycling. Tseng Kuo-hsiu (曾國修), a 47-year-old who has suffered from the disease for 19 years, said he began cycling as a form of exercise two years ago. Cycling is a well-suited exercise for people with Parkinson’s disease because it helps strengthen muscles as well as increasing physical strength and willpower, he said.
■ ENVIRONMENT
Water mostly sufficient
Taiwan Water Corp (Taiwater) said yesterday that aside from the Kaohsiung area, the country’s water reserves were sufficient to meet demand until the end of June. Hu Nan-jer (胡南澤), vice president of Taiwater, said that although water in major reservoirs in northern and central parts of the country had reached normal levels, the south continued to face shortages. He said the company had undertaken measures to increase supplies in the Kaohsiung area, such as drilling new wells, tapping more underground water sources and deepening and dredging reservoirs. If drought conditions persist in the south, contingency measures would be put in place under the supervision of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, he said.
■ ENVIRONMENT
Changhua farmers protest
Oyster farmers protested in Taipei yesterday against industrial facilities near their farms, which they said have seriously threatened their operations. Lin Lien-tsung (林連宗), secretary-general of the Fangyuan Anti-Pollution Association in Changhua County, said an investigative report by Ted Smith, founder of the US’ Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, found that the wastewater released by panel makers in Changhua was highly poisonous. The 1,000 hectare oyster farms in Yungxing (永興), Wanggong (王功) and Hanbao (漢寶) townships will be highly polluted and even disappear in several years if wastewater from the Central Taiwan Science Park continues to be released into the sea through the townships, Lin said. The farmers also called on the government to immediately call off several industrial development projects in the coastal area, including the Guoguang petrochemical complex, the FPG naphtha cracker in Yunlin and the Central Taiwan Science Park’s sub-projects.
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation
Taiwan and the US have begun trade negotiations over tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump earlier this month, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said in an interview this morning before reporting to the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), Taiwan’s de facto embassy in the US, has already established communication channels with the US Department of State and the US Trade Representative (USTR), and is engaging in intensive consultations, he said. Points of negotiation include tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and issues related to investment, procurement and export controls, he
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