President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) expressed concern and sympathy for the people of Japan yesterday after the country was hit by a strong typhoon and a series of earthquakes in the past week.
Chen extended his regards on behalf of the Taiwanese government and people while meeting with Hisaoki Kamei, a member of the lower house of the Japanese Diet.
Typhoon Tokage pounded much of Japan Oct. 20, leaving at least 66 dead and 22 missing; and a magnitude 6.8 earthquake and a series of aftershocks shook Niigata Prefecture over the week-end, resulting in 25 deaths and over 2,200 injuries.
Chen took advantage of his meeting with Kamei to express his condolences to the families who have lost members to the disasters or have had to seek shelter.
Both Taiwan and Japan are located in earthquake-prone areas and face the threat of typhoons, Chen said, adding that he hopes the two countries can cooperate in research on natural disaster prevention and post-disaster reconstruction technologies.
Touching on bilateral rela-tions, Chen said he looks forward to seeing Taiwanese tourists enjoy visa-free treatment by Japan starting from next year.
In the face of China's strong attraction of foreign investment, Chen said Taiwan and Japan should sign a free-trade agreement as early as possible to prevent a regional trade imbalance.
Chen said he is convinced a Taiwan-Japan free trade agreement would benefit both sides and contribute to the free flow of capital, goods and information as well as help regional economic prosperity.
Chen also expressed his gratitude for Kamei's long-term efforts in promoting friendship and substantive relations between Tai-wan and Japan.
Kamei, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, founded a pro-Taiwan association in Shimane prefecture four years ago to promote commercial and cultural exchanges. He is heading a large delegation of association members on a goodwill visit to Taiwan.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
IDENTITY SHIFT: Asked to choose to identify as either Taiwanese or Chinese, 83.3 percent of respondents chose Taiwanese, while 8.4 percent chose Chinese An overwhelming majority of Taiwanese, 71.5 percent, think that Taiwan should compete in international competitions under the name “Taiwan,” a Taiwan Brain Trust survey published yesterday showed. Referring to Taiwan’s victory last month at the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12, the survey results showed that 89.1 percent of respondents said that Taiwan’s exceptional performance in sporting competitions furthers national unity. Only 18.8 percent of respondents supported Taiwanese teams’ continued use of the name “Chinese Taipei” in international sporting competitions, the survey showed. Among Taiwan’s leading political parties, the name “Team Taiwan” was supported by 91.1 percent of self-identified Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters,
RSS