The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus yesterday described a plan outlined by Beijing to economically integrate China’s Fujian Province with Kinmen County in Taiwan as a “trap” that was intended to save China’s failing property market under the pretense of benefiting Taiwanese.
Commenting on the plan during a question-and-answer session at the legislature in Taipei, DPP Secretary-General Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said that past measures introduced by China as “beneficial” to Taiwanese have failed to produce any benefit, or have come with special conditions attached.
“China’s housing market is very sluggish at present, and the youth unemployment rate in China continues to soar. The sudden announcement of measures to benefit Taiwan is a bit unexpected, since China is facing its own purchasing-power problems,” Chuang said.
Nearly 30 cities in China have relaxed or canceled residential purchase restrictions in a bid to revive the nation’s housing market, he said, adding that Beijing has now opened up housing purchases to Taiwanese apparently toward the same end.
Xinhua news agency on Tuesday reported that Beijing would encourage Taiwanese firms in Fujian Province to list on Chinese stock exchanges, citing a statement jointly issued by the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee and the State Council.
It also said Beijing would support innovative ways of cross-strait capital cooperation and encourage the setup of an integration development fund, but did not give further details.
China has increased its military presence near Taiwan, while at the same time crafting long-term economic and social plans for the nation, which it envisions would one day be “reunified.”
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
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