Minister of Economic Affairs Chang Chia-juch (張家祝) on Sunday said he has urged China to give “pragmatic responses” to key problems that are challenging the progress of talks on a proposed cross-strait service trade agreement.
Chang said he brought up the issue during his meeting with Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng (高虎城) on Friday, after his arrival in Qingdao for an annual APEC ministerial meeting.
Chang said that at the meeting he told Gao that the problems are mostly linked to the industrial sector, particularly businesses that produce petrochemicals, panels, automobiles and machine tools.
If China cannot give a full and pragmatic response, there is no chance Taiwan will sign the agreement, Chang told Gao.
Gao reportedly said that Chinese enterprises have a lot to say about China’s opening to Taiwan, and some are worried the deal would continue meeting similar roadblocks along the way.
The cross-strait service trade agreement was signed in June last year, but has not yet been endorsed by the nation’s lawmakers who worry about the impact on small local businesses and the job market.
Despite the concerns, Gao promised that China’s internal coordination would continue and he reiterated Beijing’s efforts to promote win-win cross-strait exchanges, Chang said.
However, Gao raised concerns about Taiwan’s draft bill on an oversight mechanism for cross-strait agreements, which is now under review in the legislature, Chang added.
Conveying Beijing’s stance on the issue, Gao said the draft act is seen as discriminatory and imbued with a sense of Taiwan independence, Chang said.
“It is absolutely not acceptable,” Chang cited Gao as saying.
Chang said he told Gao the draft act is an internal matter and has nothing to do with the challenges facing the talks on the trade of goods.
However, the two matters can be handled simultaneously because they are not contradictory to each other, the minister said he told Gao.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of