Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday gave her best wishes to former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), who is to depart for China tomorrow on a five-day visit.
Hsieh’s visit has garnered a lot of attention because of his seniority in the DPP, Tsai said in a press release.
“Hopefully, his visit will help consolidate cross-strait relations and move them in a positive direction,” the statement said
Tsai praised Hsieh’s courage in making the trip and called for all parties not to “over interpret” his visit because, since losing the presidential elections in January, the DPP has reached a consensus that it should increase its understanding of China.
The former presidential candidate reiterated that cross-strait engagement should be conducted without preconditions and asserted that the party had been pragmatic in its China policy over the years.
“From the Taiwan Independence Clause through to the 1999 Resolution on Taiwan’s Future, the DPP has always been firm about Taiwan’s sovereignty, but with a pragmatic approach,” she said.
Meanwhile, Tsai outlined her observations about her India, following a recent trip to the South Asian nation, at a press event yesterday afternoon, saying that Taiwan should develop links with the country which could become one of its most important trade and strategic allies in Asia.
Tsai, who visited India for the first time from Sept. 19 to Sept. 28, said the country’s economy is “highly complementary” with Taiwan’s and could be Taiwan’s gateway to Central and Western Asia.
While access to Indian markets would have additional entry costs compared with China, the country — which has a population of 1.22 billion — is worth exploring because of its large markets and democratic history she said.
While reviewing her 10-day trip, Tsai said Taiwan should transform itself from being an inward-looking country — a result of being isolated from the international community for an extended period of time — into an outward-looking nation.
With the US poised to realign its focus toward the Asia-Pacific region, Tsai said that Taiwan should do exactly the same because it has always tended to look to the US, Europe and Japan.
At this turbulent time, Taiwan should re-examine its position in Asia and the relationship it wants to develop with countries in the continent to determine its future direction.
As for China, Taiwan cannot afford to ignore the rising power, but it should also seek a “balance” between engaging its former foe and the rest of the world, Tsai said.
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
RSS