A delegation led by Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) is heading to Vietnam today to negotiate over damage sustained by Taiwanese businesses during the recent anti-China protests there.
During the planned four-day visit, the delegation is to discuss compensation to investors under the bilateral investment protection agreement both countries signed in 1993, Shen told a press conference at the Executive Yuan.
Shen declined to unveil the list of Vietnamese officials the delegation is to meet with in Hanoi.
Photo: CNA
Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) said that meetings “were all set up,” but both sides preferred not to disclose the schedule.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs said 224 Taiwanese businesses suffered losses, including 18 whose facilities were set ablaze by rioters, after protests in Vietnam that erupted after China deployed an oil rig near the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), which are claimed by Taiwan, China and Vietnam.
They included 175 in Binh Duong Province, 41 in Dong Nai Province, six in Ho Chi Minh City, one in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province and one in Ha Tinh Province, the ministry said.
Last week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the government would seek to file a united claim seeking compensation for the damage caused to Taiwan-owned businesses with Japan, South Korea and Singapore because protesters also destroyed some factories owned by their nationals, but Shen said yesterday that Taiwan would talk to Vietnam first.
The delegation is composed of high-ranking officials in charge of investment, taxation, insurance, loans, labor, credit guarantee funds and other areas.
“We hope that we can decide how to meet [Taiwanese investors’] demands to help them get back to normal operation as soon as possible,” Shen said.
Shen said he had talked to several firms in Vietnam recently, and none were considering withdrawing capital from Vietnam, but they hoped that the riots would never recur.
Separately, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday sent a delegation led by KMT Deputy Chairman Tseng Tung-chuan (曾永權) and Legislator Chan Kai-chen (詹凱臣) to offer sympathy to Taiwanese businesspeople in Vietnam and to learn about their needs.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has instructed the delegation to provide Taiwanese investors with assistance to get back to business as soon as possible.
On behalf of the Democratic Progressive Party, Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) also arrived in Vietnam to offer help yesterday.
Tsai said that he would listen to the needs of Taiwanese businesspeople and urge the government to support them as much as possible.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS