President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday expounded on his administration’s achievements in promoting peace across the Taiwan Strait and called for peace and cooperation in East Asia amid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
“Over the years, the Taiwan Strait and the Korean Peninsula have been considered two flashpoints in East Asia. The Korean Peninsula is now under escalating military tensions, while the Taiwan Strait has become an avenue of peace and prosperity, under peaceful and stable cross-strait relations,” he said in a meeting with a delegation from the US National Bureau of Asian Research, a non-profit institution that focuses on policy in the Asia-Pacific region.
North Korea on Monday announced it was withdrawing all workers and suspending operations at a joint industrial zone with South Korea, and said it would launch a missile today.
Ma yesterday detailed his administration’s efforts to improve cross-strait relations and reduce tensionsin the past five years. He also discussed his proposal last year of an East China Sea peace initiative, which aims to resolve disputes between Taiwan, China and Japan over sovereignty issues regarding the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) by calling for joint development of resources in the area while putting aside territorial disputes.
He also said he expected that Taiwan and the US would strengthen their economic and trade relations, as the two nations are preparing for talks under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement.
On the other hand, he said, Taiwan and China would continue to negotiate follow-up issues under the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, amid concerns about the Ma administration possibly moving from economic cross-strait cooperation to political negotiations in the near future.
In an interview with the Chinese-language United Daily News on Monday, Ma dismissed such concerns and insisted that political negotiations are “unnecessary” at the moment. He reiterated that the government would address easier cross-strait issues and develop economic relations with China before entering into political dialogue.
A study published by online booking platform Expedia revealed searches for travel to Taipei have ballooned 2,786 percent following the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions due to the city being a “designation dupe” for Seoul. The TikTok trend for duping — referring to substituting a designation for a more inexpensive alternative — helped propel interest in Taipei, it said in a consumer survey titled “Unpack ‘24,” which was conducted from September to October in 14 countries. Location dupes are “every bit as delightful as the tried-and-true places travelers love,” Expedia trend tracker Melanie Fish said of the year’s popular alternatives, which
A small-scale protest that called on the government to cancel its plan to welcome Indian migrant workers in a bid to tackle Taiwan’s labor shortage was held in Taipei yesterday. During the protest, comprised of a few dozen people staged in front of the Presidential Office on Ketagalan Boulevard, the protest’s chief initiator, a woman identified only as “Yuna” said they wanted the central government to reconsider allowing migrant workers from India to enter Taiwan. Most people in Taiwan had little knowledge about the potential plan to allow in Indian migrant workers until a report in the media last month, she
NO RELIGIOUS VISIT: The interior minister said visas were not issued for 218 applicants for a tour of Taiwan organized by a temple due to their own non-response Chinese who had sought to enter Taiwan for a religious event were not granted visas because they were not “religious personnel” and planned to visit places not listed on their group tour’s itinerary, then never supplied supplemental information upon request, the Ministry of the Interior and the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Visas were not issued for 218 of the 239 applicants, as they did not provide additional information or explanations as requested, Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) told a committee at the legislature in Taipei. Multiple groups, including the Taiwan Matsu Fellowship, had signed a petition that sought
A military procurement announcement released on Friday shows the purchase of “air/surface” weapons bound for Taitung, likely for the newly purchased Block 70 F-16V jets still awaiting delivery. The announcement shows a NT$17.22 billion (US$548.91 million) purchase agreement signed on Nov. 13 for “aircraft air/surface weapons,” to be delivered to the air force's Seventh Tactical Flight Wing stationed at the Taitung Air Force Base. The sale is scheduled to take place over nine years, with delivery completed by Nov. 30, 2032. Considering the recipient, analysts believe they are likely air-to-air or air-to-surface missiles for the military’s 66 upgraded Block 70 F-16V jets awaiting
RSS