China on Sunday announced further measures aimed at promoting exchanges with Taiwan, adding that another 25 are in the pipeline.
Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Director Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) made the announcement at a cross-strait forum in Xiamen, saying that he was authorized to unveil some of the measures that the Chinese government is taking to increase exchanges and cooperation with Taiwan.
He did not say when the other measures would be made public.
The new measures seem to be China’s latest effort to woo Taiwanese hearts and minds after Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) took power in March.
In response, the Mainland Affairs Council said that it would study the measures before making an official comment.
The Tourism Bureau, however, welcomed a measure that will make it easier for Chinese nationals to apply for travel documents to come to Taiwan, and another that will allow residents of Xiamen to double the amount of time they are allowed to spend on the outlying island of Kinmen to two days at a time.
Speaking at the forum, Yu Zhengsheng (俞正聲), chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, also made an overture to pro-independence Taiwanese.
“Even those who once supported and promoted Taiwan independence, or followed those who do, so long as they are willing to help improve and develop cross-strait relations, will be welcome to visit the mainland and to join us in promoting exchanges and cooperation between the two sides of the Strait,” he told the delegates, who included Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Lin Fong-cheng (林豐正).
According to the New China News Agency, the measures announced by Zhang are:
‧ Facilitating travel and making it more convenient, for instance, by increasing from nine to 20 the number of provinces and cities where Taiwanese nationals can apply for new travel documents allowing them to enter and exit China.
‧ Allowing qualified Chinese nationals in 31 provinces and cities to apply for travel documents to visit Taiwan, regardless of the location of their official residence, plus extending the maximum length of visits to Kinmen by residents of Xiamen from one day to two.
‧ Expanding job opportunities for Taiwanese in China, including opening certification examinations for 10 professions to Taiwanese residents and providing support to Taiwanese who want to start a business in China after earning a degree there.
‧ The recognition by the Supreme People’s Court of China of civil settlements reached by the mediation committees of Taiwanese townships to better protect people’s rights.
‧ Increasing the number of designated bases for official cross-strait exchanges from 17 to 28, with the new ones including the Confucius Temple in Shandong Province and the Mausoleum of the 72 Revolutionary Martyrs in Guangzhou.
‧ The establishment of the first 10 designated bases for official cross-strait cultural exchanges, including the National Art Museum of China and the Cultural Friendship Association in Henan Province.
‧ The establishment of a national cross-strait copyright trading center and a base for the digital publishing industry in Chinese-controlled Fujian Province.
In addition, the government of Chinese-controlled Fujian Province announced seven measures of its own aimed at strengthening ties with Taiwan. Those measures include giving Taiwan three red pandas and providing assistance to Taiwanese small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the province.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
RSS