China’s “reunification” with Taiwan is inevitable, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) said in his New Year’s address yesterday, striking a stronger tone than he did in his address last year, with less than two weeks to go before Taiwan elects ts new president.
“The reunification of the motherland is a historical inevitability,” Xi said, though the official English translation of his remarks published by the state-run Xinhua news agency used a more simple phrase: “China will surely be reunified.”
“Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” he added. The official English translation wrote “all Chinese” rather than “compatriots.”
Photo by Pedro Pardo / AFP
Last year, Xi said only that people on either side of the strait are “members of one and the same family,” and that he hoped people on both sides would work together to “jointly foster [the] lasting prosperity of the Chinese nation.”
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and DPP presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德) have repeatedly offered to hold talks with China, but have been rebuffed.
The DPP says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future, as does Lai’s main opponent in the election, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), from Taiwan’s largest opposition party, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Lai said on Saturday that the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China “are not subordinate to each other.”
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
China has reserved offshore airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts that are usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Sunday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. The alerts, known as notice to air missions (NOTAMs), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert
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