Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien (王建煊) yesterday suggested that the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission (OCAC) expand its services to include expatriates from the People’s Republic of China.
Wang made the remarks during a speech before 180 board members of the OCAC, who returned to the country to attend its annual conference in Taipei.
“It doesn’t matter whether they are expatriates from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong or Macau, they should be regarded as a unit. Given the increasing number of Chinese expatriates, if you restricted your services to Taiwanese expatriates, I believe there wouldn’t be much left for you to do,” Wang said.
Wang said that Taiwan could win over Chinese expatriates by extending good services and showing them care, adding that the OCAC should focus more on love than the issue of unification versus independence.
“Under the leadership of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), we have seen a significant improvement in cross-strait relationships. If it continues to develop, the Nobel Peace Prize will one day be awarded to the people of the Republic of China,” Wang said.
Wang said love was the basis for Ma’s cross-strait policy and the starting point from which to develop cross-strait peace.
All political leaders and OCAC board members should work to bring better lives to people on both sides of the Strait, Wang told the audience, adding that: “Taiwan will succeed when it becomes an island of love.”
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits