The Presidential Office said yesterday that the government would stick to its plan after China yesterday offered to start talks on an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) “as early as possible.”
The response came after China’s state media reported yesterday that Beijing planned to launch official discussions for closer economic cooperation with Taiwan before the end of the year.
“We are willing to negotiate with Taiwan and launch official discussions on a cross-strait economic cooperation agreement ... as early as possible before the year’s end,” Taiwan Affairs Office chief Wang Yi (王毅) was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying.
Wang said talks could take place between the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait and the Straits Exchange Foundation “if both sides consider it necessary.”
Asked whether ECFA talks could be moved forward, Presidential Office Spokesperson Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said the government would proceed according to plan on ECFA talks with China in the hope that the two sides would build peace together.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said during his speech marking the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Kuningtou that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait should substitute peace for opposition and take advantage of cross-strait talks to build peace, adding that this viewpoint had not changed, Wang Yu-chi said.
The next round of talks would be held in Taichung in mid or late December, the fourth round of meetings since last year.
Speaking during a cross-strait symposium in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, Wang Yi said Beijing was willing to “further interact with Taiwan to solve problems concerning cross-strait economic exchanges and push the economic relations between the two sides to a new level.”
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
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