Taiwan would say no to Beijing at the negotiation table if the latter made demands that could harm the country, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) said yesterday.
Lai said there have been concerns over the demands Beijing might make, but that Taiwan was prepared to “firmly say no to Beijing.”
“During negotiations, the fundamental principle of the administration is to put Taiwan first and to serve the interests of the public,” she said. “As a responsible government, we will firmly say no if the result is damaging to Taiwan.”
Lai made the remarks while receiving a Japanese delegation at the council yesterday.
She said the administration’s cross-strait policy was to engage in practical exchanges with Beijing and improve cross-strait relations to ensure stability in the Taiwan Strait and peace in East Asia. This not only meets the interests of Taiwan, Japan and the region, but also would be beneficial to the development of Taiwan-Japan relations, she said.
Lai said the relaxation of cross-strait regulations over the past three months had led to positive developments.
She said the administration attached equal importance to the ties between Taipei and Tokyo, adding that the government would continue to strengthen communications with Japan.
Lai said that while some have questioned if the administration has been hasty in implementing the cross-strait policy, some of the measures were promoted by the former Democratic Progressive Party administration but did not yield positive results.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
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