Five Chinese cities that were invited to an international forum hosted by the Kaohsiung City Government are unlikely to attend the event, which starts today, a city official said yesterday.
Kaohsiung Economic Development Bureau Director Tseng Wen-sheng (曾文生) said invitations were sent in June to Shanghai, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Fuzhou and Tianjin for the three-day Global Harbor Cities Forum, but they have not responded.
Meanwhile, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) yesterday said that city-to-city exchanges between Taiwan and China would be conducive to the development of cross-strait relations and it was regrettable that the five cities had not responded to the invitations.
Kaohsiung remains open to communication and exchanges with China, Chen said, adding that she had visited China twice — in 2009 and 2013.
Positive development of cross-strait ties can only be achieved through exchanges and interaction, Chen said, adding that she would not pass up any opportunities to continue such exchanges.
On the question of whether Kaohsiung was being targeted in view of the fact that Shanghai representatives participated in a twin city forum in Taipei last month, Chen told reporters she was disappointed that the five Chinese cities had not responded to Kaohsiung’s invitation.
Forty-four cities in 24 nations have confirmed their attendance at the forum, which will cover issues such as industrial transformation, marine tourism and sustainable development, Kaohsiung City Government officials said.
The delegates include Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk from Australia; Panama City Mayor Jose Blandon; Medan Mayor Dzulmi Eldin from Indonesia; Melvin Holden, mayor-president of the City of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish in Louisiana; Callao Mayor Juan Sotomayor Garcia of Peru; and Male City Mayor Mohamed Shihab of the Maldives, the officials said.
The Kaohsiung City Government said it expects to sign several agreements at the forum with representatives from Vietnam, Panama City and Selangor in Malaysia.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS