Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) met American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond Burghardt yesterday to discuss the party’s China policy and the recent escalation of regional tensions due to China’s demarcation of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the DPP said.
Burghardt, who arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for a five-day visit, met with Su at the DPP headquarters for a 60-minute closed-door meeting, according to a press release issued by the party.
The AIT chairman reiterated that the US has refused to recognize the Chinese zone, a point US Vice President Joe Biden made repeatedly during his recent visits to Japan, South Korea and China, the release said.
Burghardt also asked Su about the DPP’s progress in formulating its China policy, the release said.
With regard to the dispute over China’s air defense identification zone, Su underlined the importance of all democratic countries in the Asia-Pacific region — including Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Australia and the US — working together to lower tensions.
The DPP’s position is in line with Su’s advocacy of an Asia-Pacific democratic alliance, established to foster collaboration on the maintenance of regional stability and resolution of conflict, the release quoted Su as saying.
During the meeting, Su said that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) reaction to Beijing’s demarcation of the zone has been “slow, weak and ambiguous,” the release said.
On the party’s China policy, Su said the DPP has begun summarizing of a series of panel discussions and meetings on various policy issues, and expects to finalize its policy recommendations shortly.
Burghardt, who served as the AIT’s Taipei office director between 1999 and 2001, is visiting Taiwan in his current capacity for the 15th time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
During his stay, he is scheduled to meet Ma, National Security Council Secretary-General Jason Yuan (袁健生) and Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂), the ministry said.
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
RSS