China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) yesterday said a visit by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Department of Chinese Affairs Director Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) to China is not an exchange between the DPP and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Chao is visiting China with a delegation led by Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Lin Join-sane (林中森).
Chao is the first head of the department to visit China since the acceptance of the so-called “1992 consensus,” which centers on the “one China” principle, was set as a precondition for cross-strait exchanges after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office in May 2008.
TAO spokesperson Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) told a regular news conference in Beijing yesterday that Chao’s visit had nothing to do with any exchanges between the DPP and the CCP because he is visiting in the capacity of a board member of the foundation.
“We will not embark upon party-to-party exchanges with the DPP unless the DPP relinquishes its separatist stance of promoting ‘one country on each side of the strait’ and ‘Taiwanese independence,’” Ma Xiaoguang was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
The foundation’s visit is part of routine exchanges and negotiations between it and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) that resumed after June 2008 on the basis of the “1992 consensus,” the spokesman said.
According to the foundation, the delegation will meet with ARATS Chairman Chen Deming (陳德銘) tomorrow in Xian to exchange views regarding policies and measures taken by China to protect Taiwanese investors.
In a press release, Lin denied that issues related to Taiwan’s intent to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank would be discussed with Chen, contradicting a statement made by Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和) on Thursday last week in the legislature that the subject was on the agenda.
Lin said that the Mainland Affairs Council has not authorized the foundation to speak with ARATS on issues related to the bank.
The 13-member delegation, which includes Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Bill Cho (卓士昭), arrived in Zhengzhou on Tuesday, where they visited the Zhengzhou Airport Economic Zone, as well as some Taiwanese-invested businesses in Henan Province, the foundation said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to