Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) yesterday said that he would express a “difference of opinion” on the establishment of cross-strait media offices with Beijing at an opportune moment.
His remarks come amid continuing controversy over the joint proposal issued by the representatives of more than 70 Chinese and Taiwanese media outlets — including Central News Agency chairman Chen Kuo-hsiang (陳國祥) and Public Television Service chairman Shao Yu-ming (邵玉銘) — after attending a forum organized by China Central Television in Beijing on Dec. 22.
Wang was fielding questions from opposition lawmakers at a legislative hearing yesterday afternoon, which was also attended by MAC Deputy Minister Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀).
“I will remind concerned agencies to voice different opinions if they are aware in advance that China is planning to make a move similar to this one [issuing the proposal] again,” Wang said, adding that such a proposal should have made mention of press freedom.
The media outlets’ six-point proposal has led opposition lawmakers to accuse the Public Television Service and Central News Agency of becoming the mouthpieces of China.
However, MAC Deputy Minister said the Taiwanese representatives did not sign on the proposal and that it was only announced unilaterally by their Chinese counterparts.
“It would be a serious matter if they had signed anything on paper,” Chang said.
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) urged Wang to take with him two Republic of China (ROC) national flags when he visits China after the Lunar New Year holiday.
Chen also took an ROC flag pin from Chinese Nationalist Party Legislator Chang Ching-chung’s (張慶忠) shirt and asked Wang to wear it during his trip.
On the sidelines of the hearing, Wang was asked by reporters to comment on an opinion piece by Wang Hailiang (王海良), secretary-general of the Taiwan Research Center at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
The article, which was run by the Chinese state-run daily Global Times on Friday, urged Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to invite President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to attend next year’s APEC meeting in Beijing as the “leader of an economy” and to refer to him as “your excellency” if they met outside the forum.
“I have no comment at the moment, since it is not an official statement… We are still discussing how Xi and Ma should refer to each other at such a meeting,” Wang said, adding that the APEC forum would be a good setting for a meeting between the top leaders of Taiwan and China.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS