The government yesterday rejected an offer by China for energy security if Taiwan agreed to Beijing’s rule, an expected response given Taipei has expressed that it does not want to be governed by its neighbor.
Governments around the world are scrambling for alternative energy supplies since the US-Israeli war on Iran severed shipping lanes through the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Taiwan receives one-third of its liquefied natural gas from Qatar and the government has said that it has secured alternative supplies for the months ahead, including from the US, the nation’s main international backer.
Photo: Screen grab from the CPC Corp, Taiwan Web site
In response to China’s offer, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Chin-tsang (何晉滄) said: “Of course, this is impossible. This is part of cognitive warfare,” referring to what Taipei views as psychological pressure from Beijing.
“On energy, we in Taiwan have made preparations, we have safety reserves and response plans,” Ho added.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said in Beijing on Wednesday that “peaceful reunification” would bring better protection of Taiwan’s energy and resource security with a “strong motherland” as its backing.
Taiwan rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and says only Taiwanese can decide their future.
China has long offered Taiwan “one country, two systems” autonomy if it agrees to be brought under Beijing’s control, which no major political party supports.
In October last year, Xinhua news agency mapped out what it said were the advantages Taiwan would enjoy after “reunification,” including economic support, but said the nation had to be run by “patriots.”
China, the world’s top oil importer, last week banned fuel exports until at least the end of the month, in an attempt to pre-empt domestic shortages, sources said, curbing exports that last year totaled US$22 billion.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
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
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
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