Representative to Germany Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) on Wednesday said he has written to several major German companies demanding that they stop listing Taiwan as part of China on their Web sites.
Shieh was referring in particular to Lufthansa and Mercedes-Benz, which have listed Taiwan on their English-language Web sites as “Taiwan, China,” as well as Bosch, which uses “Taiwan (China)” on its Web site.
“These companies have apparently come under heavy pressure from Beijing, as China has been flexing its muscle toward Taiwan around the globe,” he said. “However, this is something that we cannot accept and we have demanded a correction from these companies.”
The issue came on the heels of Marriott International’s apology to Beijing in January for naming Taiwan as a stand-alone country on an e-mail questionnaire it sent to members of its reward program.
China has been stepping up its offensive against Taiwan by adopting a two-pronged strategy.
While it is seeking to block the nation’s presence in the international community, Beijing is offering incentives to Taiwanese citizens in hopes of enticing more Taiwanese to engage with China.
Late last month, Beijing announced 31 measures that would allow Taiwanese to compete on an equal footing with Chinese in China, covering an “unprecedented” number of actors, from students to the film industry.
Academics have expressed concern that this would accelerate an exodus of talent from Taiwan, placing the nation at a disadvantage in the global competition for highly educated workers.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about