The Republic of China (ROC) is to continue to pursue reconciliation and diplomacy with China because the government’s cross-strait policies have improved external relations and removed the “flashpoint” that existed in East Asia previously, Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) told an international forum on Asia-Pacific security.
Lin delivered a luncheon addressed to an international audience at this year’s Asia-Pacific Security forum hosted by the Institute for National Policy Research, the US-based Pacific Forum-CSIS, the Institute for Strategic and Development Studies in the Philippines and Asia Center in France.
Lin said the ROC’s geopolitical role in the region was significant, located as it is in a pivotal position between the East China Sea and the South China Sea, as the world’s political and economic center of gravity shifts toward the Asia-Pacific region.
Lin said that the East China Sea peace initiative that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) proposed a year ago has been well received internationally. The initiative called for the parties concerned to put aside differences, pursue stability by conducting peaceful negotiations and then commit to sharing and developing resources.
“We hope that the initiative will help East Asia rid itself of turmoil and confrontation and add to Taiwan’s role as a peacemaker and responsible stakeholder in the region,” Lin said.
Citing the fisheries agreement Taiwan signed with Japan in April, Lin said that the initiative has provided “a critical solution for the seemingly intractable sovereignty disputes” arising from the rapid and dynamic development of the region.
Under the agreement, the rights and interests of Taiwanese fisherman were safeguarded, while neither Taiwan nor Japan was required to alter its stance on territorial and maritime claims to the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), Lin said.
“The key to the success of the East China Sea peace initiative lies in reciprocity and cooperation,” Lin said. “The ROC government is ready and willing to play the role of a dependable partner and hopefully, the same spirit and principle can be applied to South China Sea and other areas.”
Bobby Inman, a retired US admiral who has served as director of the US National Security Agency, delivered a keynote speech at the forum.
In the face of challenges ahead — the need for additional energy resources to sustain economic growth, the indisputable and continued warming of the planet, international narcotic trafficking and cybersecurity, among others — it is critical that countries involved adopt a multilateral approach to deal with the problems, Inman said.
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
Taiwan plans to cull as many as 120,000 invasive green iguanas this year to curb the species’ impact on local farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture said. Chiu Kuo-hao (邱國皓), a section chief in the ministry’s Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, on Sunday said that green iguanas have been recorded across southern Taiwan and as far north as Taichung. Although there is no reliable data on the species’ total population in the country, it has been estimated to be about 200,000, he said. Chiu said about 70,000 iguanas were culled last year, including about 45,000 in Pingtung County, 12,000 in Tainan, 9,900 in
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
RSS