The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday that negotiations on gravel shipping operations across the Taiwan Strait could begin at any time if Chinese regulations on Taiwanese shipping operators do not comply with the spirit of the direct sea transportation agreement signed with Beijing last month.
MAC Deputy Minister Chao Chien-min (趙建民) said that the administration would find out whether China’s requirements failed to comply with the spirit of equal participation, and if that were the case, it would be “properly dealt with.”
“We will immediately launch a negotiation process via the proper channels if such a situation is confirmed,” Chao said. “The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is in the process of investigating.”
Chao said Beijing had also expressed its willingness to talk about the issue should any problems arise.
Chao made the remarks in response to questions about a complaint filed by local gravel shipping operators, who have accused the government of neglecting them during negotiations for direct sea transportations links across the Taiwan Strait.
They criticized the transportation ministry for overlooking their financial plight and asking them to buy new ships. They also complained that China’s requirement that flag-of-convenience ships be less than 33 years old was too strict.
They threatened to use their ships to stage a protest at Taipei Port on Thursday if they did not receive a positive response from the government. Thursday marks the day when Chinese permits issued to five Taiwanese ships are set to expire.
Lee Li-jane (李麗珍), director of the council’s Department of Economic Affairs, said that five Taiwanese ships were allowed to transport gravel across the Taiwan Strait before the agreement was signed and they must apply for new permits from both Taiwan and China before Thursday. However, the department’s understanding was that China had not yet received any application from the firms, Lee said.
As for those who could not obtain a permit before the agreement was signed, Lee said they could continue to ship gravel from China, but they must go through a third country before coming to Taiwan, or they could apply on-line for a single shipment trip. The transportation ministry said it would help them resolve any problems, although the ministry’s position was to encourage them to buy new ships.
Lee said most of those who did not obtain a permit were rejected because their ships were too old. Those operators have asked the Taiwanese government to issue them permits so they would be allowed to ship gravel from China, but Lee said the department’s evaluation was that it would put Taiwan in a less favorable position because China might ask Taiwan to reciprocate for its old ships. Therefore, the proposal was not put on the negotiation table, she said.
The reason that the ships were able to ship gravel before the agreement was signed was because they took advantage of China’s lax implementation of its laws, Lee said.
“Now that the agreement has been signed, that door is closed,” she said.
Regarding the complaint that 10 Chinese ships that Beijing has approved were over the age limit, Lee said the oldest among them was built in 1975 and that ship would not be able to renew its permit next year. Statistics show that Taiwan imports 95 percent of its gravel from China, or 15 million tonnes to 30 million tonnes a year.
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
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
‘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
RSS