Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) yesterday hailed the conclusion of cross-strait talks on Friday as a new page in Taipei and Beijing relations when greeting the returning delegation headed by Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.<>
“Chiang met the public’s expectations and successfully accomplished his tasks, opening a new page in positive cross-strait exchanges,” Lai said.
During Chiang’s four-day visit to China, he signed accords with his Chinese counterpart Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), chairman of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), to launch weekend cross-strait flights and allow more Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan.
PHOTO: CHU PEI-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Chiang yesterday said he did not reach a consensus with Chen on setting up branch offices of their respective organizations in Taipei and in Beijing, as had been reported in the local media.
“Chen suggested setting up a semi-official travel agency in Taipei to help streamline the process of obtaining visas to China. I replied that I would take his suggestion back to Taipei. That’s all I said,” Chiang said.
Later yesterday, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) received Chiang at the Presidential Office. Ma urged Chiang to organize a new round of cross-strait negotiations to reach a deal on the new cross-strait flight routes.
Taipei and Beijing agreed that weekend charter flights must fly through Hong Kong airspace instead of taking a direct route across the strait, but during the talks, Chiang suggested allowing the charter flights to fly a “direct route.”
Chiang’s move sparked controversy as to whether he was authorized to make the proposal as the Ministry of National Defense had expressed its opposition for national security reasons.
Ma yesterday said he backed the “direct flight” proposal.
“The shorter the flying time [between Taiwan and China], the more everyone will benefit,” Ma said.
“Direct flight, new flight routes, cargo charter flights and weekday passenger charter flights should all be put on the table as soon as possible,” he said.
Both sides of the Taiwan Strait agreed to establish “institutionalized” communication channels following the Chiang-Chen talks, Ma said.
“Different issues can be talked about by different groups at the same time and the talks can take place in Taiwan and in China simultaneously,” Ma said. “That way, it would be faster. There are a thousand of things that remain to be done. My worry is that progress will fall behind the public’s expectations.”
‘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
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS