Penghu might become a relay station between Taiwan and China, similar to Kinmen, Premier Frank Hsieh said yesterday.
"Penghu is definitely qualified to apply, as a special case, to handle direct transportation with China," he said. "The possibility of passing such an application is quite high and we will seriously consider it."
Hsieh made the remarks in Penghu yesterday morning in response to media inquiries about Penghu becoming a relay station under the "mini three links" plan.
The "mini three links," established in January 2001, opened the door for residents of Kinmen and Matsu to travel to Xiamen in China's Fujian Province without restrictions.
Hsieh said the earliest Penghu would take such a role would be next month. He did not say, however, if any government agency is already drawing up plans.
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday that the premier was referring to direct transport for religious pilgrimages.
Wu, however, said that the government would consider allowing other forms of direct transportation for Penghu, as a special case.
Hsieh went to Penghu yesterday for a ceremony marking the upgrading of the National Penghu Institute of Technology to National Penghu University.
Meanwhile, China's preferential tariff exemptions on the import of 15 types of Taiwanese fruit took effect yesterday.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip William Lai (
They are duty bound, he said, to educate farmers on all the pros and cons of the offer so that they could make an informed decision.
Lai urged farmers to review their long-term interests to ensure they don't become the biggest loser in the game.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus leader Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) said the government has been blocking fruit exports to China for political reasons.
Cho said that it baffles him that Taiwanese fruit is banned from going to China when it is exported all over the world.
KMT Legislator Tseng Yung-chuan (
Tseng dismissed media speculation that the KMT is planning to set up an agricultural development fund and four fruit-trading centers in China to help promote agricultural exports.
(Additional reported by Shih Hsiu-chuan)
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS