US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Beijing yesterday for talks expected to focus on pushing forward six party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program.
Rice arrived in Beijing after touring China’s earthquake shattered Sichuan Province.
Her visit comes after North Korea handed in a key declaration last week outlining its nuclear activities and destroyed the cooling tower of its Yongbyon nuclear power plant.
PHOTO: AP
In Sichuan, Rice met children who were made homeless by last month’s devastating earthquake and praised the country’s response to the disaster.
Rice offered her support to those who survived the quake, which left 88,000 people dead or missing and up to 5 million displaced.
“I’ve been tremendously impressed with the recovery, with the resilience of the people,” Rice told journalists after touring the wrecked city of Dujiangyan, near the epicenter.
Besides touring the city that has suffered up to US$7.1 billion in economic damage, Rice visited victims in a make-shift refugee camp.
When Rice dropped into a classroom, Zhou Yifan, a student living at the camp spoke to her in English, saying: “My pleasure to take a photo with you. I often see you on TV, you are a superstar.”
Rice was expected to hold talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) today.
During her talks with China’s leaders, Rice said she would discuss ways to get China’s close ally Myanmar to accept international aid following a typhoon that slammed the country last month.
“It has been sad that the Burmese authorities, instead of making possible the international community’s response to their people, that they have put up barriers to that response,” Rice said. “Many lives could have been saved, perhaps many more can still be saved if we can get that response.”
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS