Taiwan's leading shipping tycoon, who endorsed President Chen Shui-bian's (
Yesterday's statement by Evergreen Group Chairman Chang Yung-fa (
PHOTO: LIU LI-JEN, TAIPEI TIMES
Chang stopped short of naming his preferred candidate, but left little room for doubt when he called on voters to support the candidate who promised better ties with arch-foe China.
The main issue dividing the contenders is their policy towards China, with incumbent Chen espousing a policy that sees Taiwan as independent while Nationalist Party leader Lien Chan (
"Which presidential candidate can bring us a life of peace, stability, prosperity, and well-being? The answer should be fairly clear," Chang said in a statement.
"The ideal candidate must ... be able to build a peaceful, stable and harmonious cross-Strait relationship in order to lead us to re-create Taiwan's economic miracle," Chang said.
Chang was a member of an advisory panel to Chen led by Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh (
In an eleventh-hour show of support, Lee, the 1986 Nobel winner in chemistry, backed Chen for the second time in a row but tempered his move with reservations about Chen's first term.
Chang said he had met Wang Yung-ching (
Chang, who has set his sights on the vast China market, turned down an offer to be a senior adviser to Chen in 2002.
Businessmen such as tycoons Chang and Wang have been clamoring for the lifting of a decades-old ban on direct sea and air links with the China to save time and reduce costs.
Despite testy political ties, Taiwan investors have poured more than US$100 billion into China since detente first began in the late 1980s, lured by low land and labor costs as well as a common language and culture.
The Evergreen Group consists of Evergreen Marine, the world's third largest shipping line, EVA Airways and Uniglory Marine. It has set up offices in a dozen Chinese cities and invested heavily in joint ventures in China.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
RSS