Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) representatives would not be allowed to enter Taiwan except in special cases, an official said today, citing China’s 22 “anti-independence” measures and cross-border repression as examples of its continued hostility and lack of goodwill toward Taiwan.
This year’s Taipei-Shanghai Twin City Forum is scheduled to take place in Shanghai next month.
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) is planning to lead a delegation to Shanghai on Dec. 25, participate in the forum’s opening ceremony on Dec. 26 and travel back to Taipei on Dec. 27.
Photo: Reuters
However, the Mainland Affairs Council recently rejected Shanghai TAO Deputy Director Li Xiaodong’s (李驍東) application to come to Taiwan, drawing criticism from the office.
An informed official said today that the Shanghai TAO treats Taiwanese businesspeople poorly.
Although Shanghai has a large number of Taiwanese businesspeople, very few return to Taiwan to participate in events organized by the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), the official said.
The Shanghai TAO is obstructing and threatening Taiwanese businesspeople, discouraging them from attending events organized by the SEF or Taiwanese government, they said.
Since the director and deputy director of the Shanghai TAO show no goodwill toward Taiwan, the council did not approve Li’s application to come to Taiwan, they added.
Despite broader tensions, Taipei and Shanghai would continue certain practical exchanges under the Twin City Forum, the official said.
For example, China is sending a panda to Taiwan, and Taiwan is sending a black-footed penguin in return.
Taiwan has approved two Chinese zoo officials and an official from the Shanghai TAO to visit Taiwan and inspect the panda’s housing at the Taipei Zoo, the official said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday voiced dissatisfaction with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), whose latest meeting, concluded earlier the same day, appeared not to address the country’s application. In a statement, MOFA said the CPTPP commission had "once again failed to fairly process Taiwan’s application," attributing the inaction to the bloc’s "succumbing to political pressure," without elaborating. Taiwan submitted its CPTPP application under the name "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu" on Sept. 22, 2021 -- less than a week after China
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
A home-style restaurant opened by a Taiwanese woman in Quezon City in Metro Manila has been featured in the first-ever Michelin Guide honoring exceptional restaurants in the Philippines. The restaurant, Fong Wei Wu (豐味屋), was one of 74 eateries to receive a “Michelin Selected” honor in the guide, while one restaurant received two Michelin stars, eight received one star and 25 were awarded a “Bib Gourmand.” The guide, which was limited to restaurants in Metro Manila and Cebu, was published on Oct. 30. In an interview, Feng Wei Wu’s owner and chef, Linda, said that as a restaurateur in her 60s, receiving an
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
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