The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday protested what it called China’s "economic oppression" against Taiwan, after the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said earlier in the day that it is considering possible countermeasures because Taiwan has failed to remove trade barriers against goods from China.
In a statement, the MAC expressed regret over any such measures but said the government will continue its efforts to minimize any adverse effects they may cause.
The ministry said earlier yesterday that China is studying further trade measures against Taiwan.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has not taken any practical measures to lift "trade restrictions" on China, it said in a statement on its official Web site.
"At present, relevant departments are studying further measures based on the conclusions of the investigation into trade barriers from Taiwan” against China, it added.
On Thursday in an address marking Double Ten National Day, President William Lai (賴清德) said that the People’s Republic of China had no right to represent Taiwan, but that the nation was willing to work with Beijing to combat challenges such as climate change, striking a firm and conciliatory tone, but drawing anger from China.
The announcement from the ministry could portend tariffs or other forms of economic pressure against Taiwan in the near future.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, which on Thursday said Lai’s speech promoted "separatist ideas" and incited confrontation, responded to the announcement by saying the fundamental reason behind the trade dispute was the "DPP authorities’ stubborn adherence to the stance of Taiwan independence."
"The political basis makes it difficult for cross-strait trade disputes to be resolved through negotiation," the office said.
In May, China reinstated tariffs on 134 items it imports from Taiwan, after the Chinese Ministry of Finance said that it would suspend concessions on the items under a trade deal because Taiwan had not reciprocated.
The Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement between Taiwan and China was initially signed in 2010, and Taiwanese officials had previously told reporters that China was likely to pressure Lai by ending some of the preferential trading terms within it.
Additional reporting by CNA
An essay competition jointly organized by a local writing society and a publisher affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might have contravened the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. “In this case, the partner organization is clearly an agency under the CCP’s Fujian Provincial Committee,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “It also involves bringing Taiwanese students to China with all-expenses-paid arrangements to attend award ceremonies and camps,” Liang said. Those two “characteristics” are typically sufficient
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
RSS