A delegation of Swiss lawmakers yesterday visited Taiwan’s outlying Kinmen County to better understand locals’ views about relations with China.
Kinmen County Deputy Commissioner Li Wen-liang (李文良) told the lawmakers that despite its size, the county plays a sensitive role in cross-strait relations, given its proximity to China’s Fujian Province.
The county, which covers an area of about 150km2, is only 10km from Xiamen, China, he said.
Photo: CNA
For example, while addressing water shortages in other counties is a local issue, it is political for Kinmen, requiring Taiwan and China to work together, he said.
Li said that some in Taiwan have expressed concerns about the political and national security implications of a 2015 arrangement to secure water for Kinmen from China’s Fujian Province.
Seventy percent of the island’s water is sourced from Jinjiang since an undersea pipeline started delivering the water in 2018, he said.
The Kinmen County government was planning to do more to address local residents’ desires for a better life, he said.
In addition to the water pipeline, the county government wants to connect to China’s electricity grid through Xiamen, he added.
Meeting the basic needs of Kinmen’s residents is closely related to cross-strait relations, and is an important and sensitive issue that the local government must address directly, Li said.
Kinmen must strike a balance amid tensions between Taiwan and China, he said.
The delegation comprises Swiss national councilors Fabian Molina and Mustafa Atici of the Social Democratic Party, Nicolas Walder and Leonore Porchet of the Green Party, and Yves Nidegger of the Swiss People’s Party.
Molina and Walder are copresidents of the Walder the Swiss-Taiwan parliamentary friendship group.
The delegation are in Taiwan for a six-day visit, and are to leave tomorrow.
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Saturday that she would not be intimidated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), following reports that Chinese agents planned to ram her car during a visit to the Czech Republic last year. "I had a great visit to Prague & thank the Czech authorities for their hospitality & ensuring my safety," Hsiao said on social media platform X. "The CCP's unlawful activities will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan's interests in the international community," she wrote. Hsiao visited the Czech Republic on March 18 last year as vice president-elect and met with Czech Senate leadership, including
There have been clear signs of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempts to interfere in the nationwide recall vote on July 26 in support of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators facing recall, an unnamed government official said, warning about possible further actions. The CCP is actively involved in Taiwanese politics, and interference in the recall vote is to be expected, with multiple Chinese state media and TAO attempts to discredit the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and undermine public support of their recall movement, the official said. This interference includes a smear campaign initiated this month by a pro-Beijing Hong Kong news outlet against
A week-long exhibition on modern Tibetan history and the Dalai Lama’s global advocacy opened yesterday in Taipei, featuring quotes and artworks highlighting human rights and China’s ongoing repression of Tibetans, Hong Kongers and Uighurs. The exhibition, the first organized by the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT), is titled “From the Snowy Ridges to the Ocean of Wisdom.” “It would be impossible for Tibetans inside Tibet to hold an exhibition like this — we can do it. because we live in a free and democratic country,” HRNTT secretary-general Tashi Tsering said. Tashi Tsering, a Taiwan-based Tibetan who has never
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
RSS