Premier Lin Chuan (林全) yesterday denied that the new government’s “new southbound policy” aims to “bypass China” and reiterated that a good cross-strait relationship would require both sides’ effort and sincerity.
People First Party (PFP) Legislator Chen Yi-chieh (陳怡潔) at a legislative question-and-answer session yesterday asked how Lin views China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Minister Zhang Zhijun’s (張志軍) remarks that the new southbound policy “is destined to fail when [the Democratic Progressive Party government] aims to replace Taiwan’s [investment in China] with it.”
Lin said the new policy is not an attempt to counter China.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“We also look forward to an improved cross-strait relationship and friendly interactions, which are no impediment to our exchanges with other regions,” the premier said.
He denied that the southbound policy is meant to “bypass China,” saying: “You would not stop making other friends just because you already have one,” and reiterated that improving cross-strait relations requires goodwill from both sides of the Strait.
Chen then said that if a good choice is made to head the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) — a position that has yet to be decided, with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) rumored to be possible candidates — the cross-strait relationship could thaw, “especially at a time when we seem to be entering a cold standoff with China.”
She said that Chinese state-run newspaper the People’s Daily in an article published on Wednesday last week derided the idea of a “second-track” mechanism for cross-strait exchanges, saying that “no track, be it first or second, would be possible if a political foundation [which for Beijing would be the ‘1992 consensus’] is nonexistent.”
Chen also brought up the TAO’s repudiation of what Mainland Affairs Council Minister Katharine Chang (張小月) said late last month about China being Taiwan’s “neighbor.”
“In response to Chang’s remarks, the TAO said Taiwan and China are not neighbors, but belong to ‘one family,’ and accused the ‘neighbor’ analogy of being ‘pregnant with Taiwanese independence insinuations,’” Chen said.
Lin did not respond directly when asked whether he thinks the two nations are “neighbors or one family,” but said that the cross-strait relationship “is just the cross-strait relationship.”
Separately yesterday, KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) questioned Lin over Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh’s (謝長廷) alleged promise to open Taiwan’s market to Japanese food products from five Japanese prefectures that were banned after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Huang alleged that Hsieh said at a news conference in Japan on Monday that foodstuffs from parts of Japan that were banned over fears of irradiation would soon be able to enter Taiwan.
“I have not read the report [about Hsieh’s remarks], but the government’s position is that there is no set agenda for the lifting of the ban on Japan’s food products from radiation-affected zones,” Lin said.
According to a report from the Central News Agency, Hsieh cited President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) call to apply “scientific method and international standards” when it comes to food import issues that “concern the health of Taiwanese,” reiterating the need for “cautious handling” to ensure that imported foodstuffs do not exceed safe limits on radioactive contaminants, “which might take five or six months [before a final conclusion could be made].”
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS