One of two planned trial voyages to test the "small three links" has been cancelled, a KMT lawmaker said yesterday.
Chen Ken-teh (
The lawmaker said that Shi Hwei-yow (許惠祐), secretary-general of the Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF), called him on Tuesday to say that MAC Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) had ordered preparations for the trip halted.
"I don't know what Tsai's motive is. Does this indicate there was a U-turn in our policy? We've discussed this plan for weeks," Chen said.
Chen said Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
Taiwan announced on Dec. 13 plans to open direct postal, transportation and trade links between the outlying island groups of Kinmen (金門) and Matsu (馬祖) and China's Xiamen (廈門) and Fuzhou (福州) cities beginning on Jan. 1. Because, Beijing has offered little response to the proposal so far, however, two groups of lawmakers proposed trial voyages to ease public concern about unpredictable responses from China resulting from Taiwan's decision.
Both groups are set to depart on Dec. 28. A group led by KMT lawmaker Chen Ching-pao (陳清寶), who has directly contacted Xiamen authorities, appears to be encountering less obstacles. By comparison, the trip organized by Chen Ken-teh, a member of the legislature's Committee of Transportation and Communications, stalled because Chen sought assistance from the SEF, Taiwan's semi-official mechanism to deal with cross-strait relations.
Shi Hwei-yow told the Taipei Times that Tsai had indeed made the phone call to tell him to put Chen's documents aside temporarily, and that he could not send the relevant papers to China without an approval from MAC.
But MAC said in a press conference yesterday evening that there was a misunderstanding, adding that the documents requested were ready. MAC officials also said they would notify the SEF right away to contact the Chinese government if Chen still plans to make the trip.
"How can I have enough time to prepare for the necessary papers now that Tsai has delayed my plan? I just don't understand why she made that phone call to Shi Hwei-yow, telling him to discontinue the proceeding," he said.
Taiwan’s Lee Chia-hao (李佳豪) on Sunday won a silver medal at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England, a career best. Lee, 25, took silver in the final of the men’s singles against world No. 1 Shi Yuqi (石宇奇) of China, who won 21-17, 21-19 in a tough match that lasted 51 minutes. After the match, the Taiwanese player, who ranks No. 22 in the world, said it felt unreal to be challenging an opponent of Shi’s caliber. “I had to be in peak form, and constantly switch my rhythm and tactics in order to score points effectively,” he said. Lee got
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
‘RELATIVELY STRONG LANGUAGE’: An expert said the state department has not softened its language on China and was ‘probably a little more Taiwan supportive’ China’s latest drills near Taiwan on Monday were “brazen and irresponsible threats,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday, while reiterating Washington’s decades-long support of Taipei. “China cannot credibly claim to be a ‘force for stability in a turbulent world’ while issuing brazen and irresponsible threats toward Taiwan,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to media queries. Washington’s enduring commitment to Taiwan will continue as it has for 45 years and the US “will continue to support Taiwan in the face of China’s military, economic, informational and diplomatic pressure campaign,” the e-mail said. “Alongside our international partners, we firmly
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
RSS