Taiwanese and Chinese officials are preparing to meet to review the results of agreements their two countries have signed over the past five years, with the meeting likely to take place by the end of the year.
Mainland Affairs Council spokeswoman Wu Mei-hung (吳美紅) said the council is collecting information from related government agencies on issues it hopes to address in the meeting with Chinese authorities.
The two sides first met to review progress in implementing bilateral agreements in Taipei in July 2011 and covered pacts on tourism, air travel, the inspection of agricultural products, food safety and mutual legal assistance.
Both sides agreed on several issues, such as allowing Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan without being part of a group and increasing the number of weekly direct flights between Taiwan and China from 370 to more than 550.
The next meeting of the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Committee is to be held in Taipei today.
The two sides are to review the implementation of the “early harvest” program under the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, signed in 2010, and progress made in follow-up negotiations on trade, the foundation said.
The meeting is to also address the issue of the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association and China’s Association of Economy and Trade Across Taiwan Straits setting up representative offices in each other’s territory, sources said.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with