Taiwan will accept China's gift of two giant pandas and concessions on fruit imports and tourism as long as there are no political strings attached, Cabinet Spokesman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday.
The agencies involved with the issues are ready to negotiate with China over technical details, Cho added.
The Cabinet spokesman made the remarks after Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council, announced in Shanghai earlier in the day the "three gifts" to cap a visit to China by Chinese Nationalist Party Chairman (KMT) Lien Chan (連戰).
Noting that the government has formulated a comprehensive policy on relations across the Taiwan Strait, Cho said the basic strategy, direction of development and schedule will not change simply because of a single event.
If China's offer of pandas, fruit tariff concessions and permission for its citizens to make pleasure trips to Taiwan carries no ulterior political motive of fostering cross-strait unification, Cho said the Taiwanese government welcomes the "gift package."
Nevertheless, Cho said, accepting the protected animals must not only comply with international conventions and the provisions of Taiwan's laws but will also require official consultations to flesh out technical details.
As to China's offer to lift the ban on its citizens going to Taiwan for sightseeing, Cho said Taiwan has already opened its door to several categories of Chinese citizens for pleasure trips. Because of China's restrictions, Cho said, Taiwanese visitors to China have far outnumbered Chinese travelers to Taiwan.
"So long as China eases its restrictions, the number of Chinese visitors to Taiwan will certainly increase significantly. We welcome its `open-door' offer and will make necessary preparations to maintain order in the travel market," Cho said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS