Taiwan submits objection to
new Chinese flight routes to
ICAO
Taipei, Jan. 15 (CNA) Taiwan has
taken its objection to China’s plan to open new flight routes
in the Taiwan Strait to the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO), Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永
樂) said Thursday.
The government has also conveyed its position on the matter to
major countries and has urged Beijing to continue to negotiate
the issue with Taipei, Lin said.
“The mainland should not implement the new routes before the
negotiations are completed,” he added.
Earlier in the week, Beijing unilaterally announced that it is
planning to open on March 5 the new north-south route M503 —
west of the median line of the Taiwan Strait — and three eastwest routes — W121, W122 and W123 — that connect with it.
According
to
Taiwan’s
Civil
Aeronautics Administration (CAA), route M503 is too close to
the Taipei Flight Information Region, a key air transport hub
in the West Pacific, while routes W121, W122 and W123 could
affect flights between Taiwan and its outlying islands of
Kinmen and Matsu, which are located just a few kilometers off
the coast of China.
The shortest distance between Route M503 and the median line
of the Taiwan Strait is just 7.8 kilometers, the CAA said.
(By Tang Pei-chun and Y.F. Low)
ENDITEM/J
Taiwan soliciting designs
overseas for Danjiang Bridge
Taipei, Jan. 9 (CNA) The government
has launched an international tendering competition to solicit
designs for the planned Danjiang Bridge in New Taipei City,
the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said Friday.
Following the first competition conference in Hamburg in
December, a second one will be held Friday in Tokyo, and a
third in San Francisco on Jan. 14, according to the ministry’s
Directorate General of Highways (DGH).
The submissions will be screened in the first stage in May and
the finalists will be announced in August, the DGH said.
The government is hoping that the Danjiang Bridge will be a
new landmark, on par with the Golden Gate Bridge in California
and the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia, when it is
completed in 2020.
The Danjiang Bridge will span the estuary of the Tamsui River,
connecting the city’s Tamsui and Bali districts, which are
popular tourist destinations famous particularly for the
sunset over the Taiwan Strait.
At 6 kilometers long and 44-meters wide, the bridge will later
accommodate a light-rail track between Tamsui and Bali.
At present, the two districts are linked mainly by the Guandu
Bridge, which is located about 10 kilometers upstream.
When the new bridge is completed, the driving distance between
Tamsui and Bali will be shortened by 15 kilometers, with
travel time reduced by 25 minutes during peak hours, according
to New Taipei’s transportation department.
Overall, it will improve Tamsui’s transportation network and
help ease traffic congestion, the department added.
(By Wang Shu-fen and Y.F. Low)
ENDITEM/pc
Taiwan prioritizing bid for
economic agreement with EU
Zhang Ming-zhong. CNA file photo
Taipei, Jan. 8 (CNA) Taiwan is giving priority this year to
forging stronger ties with the European Union, an effort that
includes striving for a bilateral economic cooperation
agreement, a foreign ministry official said Thursday.
“The ministries of foreign and economic affairs will continue
their efforts to seek the support of European countries to
begin negotiating such a pact,” said Zhang Ming-zhong,
director general of the Foreign Ministry’s Department of
European Affairs.
At a news briefing, he said the economic agreement
negotiations, along with a proposed bilateral investment pact,
are among Taiwan’s priorities in seeking to develop its
relations with the EU this year.
Zhang later told CNA that Taiwan and the Netherlands have
commissioned a research institute in the Netherlands to
conduct a feasibility study on the economic cooperation
agreement.
“The feasibility study is expected to be completed in the
first quarter of the year,” he said.
Taiwan has close trade links with the Netherlands, its second
largest trading partner in Europe, according to Zhang.
He said officials with the Economics Ministry’s Bureau of
Foreign Trade have visited their counterparts in 28 European
countries to seek support for the economic agreement.
(By Elaine Hou)
ENDITEM/pc
Taiwan to hold events marking
wartime victory against Japan
Taipei, Jan. 6 (CNA) Taiwan will
kick off a series of events later this year to mark the 70th
anniversary of the Republic of China’s victory over Japan in
the Sino-Japanese War in 1945, defense officials said Tuesday.
Ministry of National Defense spokesman Maj. Gen. Luo Shou-he
said that the ministry will hold a series of events aimed at
reminding the public of ROC soldiers’ contributions to the
country and its triumph in the eight-year war that lasted from
1937 to 1945.
About 3.21 million ROC soldiers and officers died or went
injured or missing during the war, Luo said at a news
conference — the first held at the ministry’s new compound in
Dazhi District in Taipei since it opened in late December.
The events will include a year-long exhibition at the Chiang
Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei starting July 1, 2015, said
Maj. Gen. Yu Tsung-chi, director of the Cultural Publicity and
Psychological Operation Division under the ministry’s
Political Warfare Bureau.
The exhibition will showcase historical photos and documents
on significant battles during the war against Japan, along
with videos detailing how the war was fought, Yu said at the
news conference.
In cooperation with Academia Historica, the ministry will
organize another exhibition that will display a variety of
artifacts and photos chronicling the ROC’s fight against Japan
and the allies’ assistance to the ROC during World War II, he
said.
The ministry has also produced a special calendar to
commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory, according to
Yu.
A total of 10,000 of the Chinese version and 3,000 of the
English version of the special calendars will be given away to
the public and distributed to related agencies, Yu said.
Among the memorial events scheduled will be five concerts in
Kaohsiung, Taichung and Taipei, in which several pop singers
and opera singers will be invited to perform songs related to
the wartime effort, he said.
“We are still finalizing the details of the concerts,” he
said, when asked which singers would participate.
In addition, the ministry will publish a collection of
paintings showcasing the war against Japan and emphasizing the
ROC’s leadership of China in fighting against Japanese forces.
“The mistake of the invasion can be forgiven, but the history
of blood and tears cannot be forgotten,” Yu said, explaining
that the events are aimed at helping the public learn more
about a significant part of the ROC’s history, not to revive
the wounds of the past.
The ROC government relocated to Taiwan in 1949 after losing to
the Chinese communist forces in a civil war.
(By Elaine Hou)
ENDITEM/ls
Naming warship ‘Baozhen’ will
protect
it
from
Chinese
attack
Taipei, Jan. 7 (CNA) Shen Lyushun,
Taiwan’s representative to the United States, said Wednesday
that if Taiwan names one of its new warships after his greatgreat-grandfather Shen Baozhen, China would think twice about
attacking the vessel.
Speaking tongue-in-cheek at a legislative hearing, the
diplomat said his great-great-grandfather commanded high
respect in China, having served as the viceroy of Liangjiang
(Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Anhui) in the late Qing Dynasty, and was
known as the founder of the Imperial Navy at the time.
His remarks prompted laughter in the Foreign Affairs and
National Defense Committee of the Legislative Yuan.
On Dec. 18, U.S. President Barrack Obama signed into law the
Navy Vessels Transfer Act of 2013, which authorized the sale
of four U.S. Perry-class frigates to Taiwan.
At the legislative hearing, opposition lawmaker Tsai Huangliang asked Shen Lyushun about local news reports that one of
the frigates will be named after Shen Baozhen in honor of his
contribution to Taiwan’s development during his service in the
Qing dynasty.
Shen Lyushun was called back from Washington to answer
questions in the Legislature after he and his staff raised
eyebrows in Washington when they hoisted the ROC flag at a
Taiwan property there on Jan. 1.
It was a sensitive issue as it could be perceived as a gesture
by Taiwan to officially display sovereign status in defiance
of Beijing’s stance on its sovereignty over the island and the
fact that Taipei and Washington do not have diplomatic ties.
(By Lu Hsin-hui, Tang Pei-chun ad Maubo Chang)
ENDITEM/pc
President, new Taipei mayor
interact
at
flag-raising
ceremony
Taipei, Jan. 1 (CNA) Ko Wen-je, the
newly inaugurated mayor of Taipei, joined President Ma Yingjeou Thursday at an early-morning flag-raising ceremony
marking New Year’s Day in front of the Presidential Office.
This was Ma’s first public appearance with Ko since the
independent politician backed by the opposition Democratic
Progressive Party won the Taipei mayoral election on Nov. 29.
Ko was sworn in a week ago.
Before the ceremony started, Ma shook hands one by one with
the participating government officials, including Ko, without
exchanging any conversation.
Just like other participants, Ko was holding a Republic of
China national flag and wearing a scarf with a pattern of the
national flag as he sang the national anthem during the
ceremony traditionally held on New Year’s Day in front of the
Presidential Office.
Ma said in his address that over the past year, Taiwan’s
economy has achieved steady growth while unemployment has
continued to fall, with consumer prices remaining stable, due
to joint efforts by the government and the people.
The economy is forecast to perform better this year than last
year, he added.
He also disclosed that the number of visitors to Taiwan in
2014 set a record high at more than 9.9 million.
When Ma was speaking, however, a group of supporters of jailed
former President Chen Shui-bian were holding a protest
demanding his release.
(By Hsieh Chia-chen and Y.F. Low)
ENDITEM/jc
Defense minister urges alert
against Chinese espionage
attempts
Taipei, Dec. 26 (CNA) China is
strengthening and diversifying its efforts to penetrate
Taiwan’s military as exchanges across the Taiwan Strait
increase, Defense Minister Yen Ming said Friday in a call for
the military to heighten its guard against spies.
As seen by the number of espionage cases exposed in recent
years, Beijing has stepped up its intelligence collection on
Taiwan’s armed forces, posing a serious threat to the overall
security of the military, Yen said at a military promotion
ceremony.
Besides improving internal management and boosting the
confidentiality awareness of active personnel, there is also a
need to increase awareness among retired personnel and their
families, he said.
He said China’s continued buildup and territorial disputes in
the East China Sea and South China Sea are having tremendous
impact on regional stability, stressing that Taiwan must
establish a streamlined but capable defense force in the face
of the military threat.
(By Lu Hsin-hui and Y.F. Low)
Taipei beats New York, Paris
as best spot for New Year
celebrations
Taipei, Dec. 28 (CNA) Taipei has
beaten New York, Paris and London in an online survey as the
world’s sixth-best spot to spend this New Year’s Eve,
according to the results of a survey conducted by Agoda.com.
The survey results released by Agoda.com — one of Asia’s
leading hotel booking sites — on Dec. 17 showed that Taipei
has garnered 7.94 percent of votes from over 7,000 respondents
during the online voting, ahead of New York at seventh spot
(7.26 percent), Paris at eighth (5.35 percent), London, ranked
ninth (4.11 percent) and Sydney, ranked tenth (3.9 percent).
Taipei City attracted more than 1 million visitors during its
New Year’s Eve festivities last year, with the largest number
of overseas travelers from Malaysia, followed by mainland
China, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Of the 24 destinations across the world, Bangkok was selected
as the most favored destination to ring in the New Year,
earning 13.6 percent of the votes, followed by Hong Kong
(10.77 percent), Bali (10.62 percent), Tokyo (9.45 percent)
and Singapore (7.97 percent).
In contrast with 18 percent of the respondents who chose
friends to share the New Year’s Eve with, 78 percent chose
their family.
Most respondents said they preferred low-key celebrations to
big-parties, the Agoda.com survey pointed out.
Only 27 percent surveyed said they wanted to welcome the New
Year at a massive public event, such as the Times Square’s
ball drop or the Taipie 101 Countdown.
(By Emerson Lin and Flor Wang)
Enditem/Shradhha
U.S. committed to Taiwan’s
defense
Washington, Dec. 16 (CNA) The
United States is committed to helping Taiwan defend itself and
is serious about that commitment, a U.S. State Department
official said Tuesday when asked about the impact of a
potential frigate sale to Taiwan on relations with China.
“We remain committed, helping to ensure that Taiwan retains
the ability to prevent coercion and defend itself, and that is
a commitment that we take very seriously. It’s an ongoing
effort,” said Daniel Russel, U.S. assistant secretary of state
for East Asian and Pacific affairs.
Speaking at a conference on “Shared Challenges and Cooperation
for Korea, China and the United States at the Brookings
Institution,” Russel hinted that U.S.-China military exchanges
would not likely be affected if President Barak Obama approved
the frigate sale to Taiwan.
On Dec. 10, the U.S. House of Representatives followed the
Senate in passing a bill that authorizes the sale of four
Perry-class frigates to Taiwan, and it will now go to the
White House for the American president to sign into law.
Russel said the quality of the dialogue the U.S. maintains
with China, including the dialogue between the defense
establishment and the PLA and the dialogue “between our
leaders,” has been a critical element in ensuring there’s “no
misunderstandings and no misapprehensions about U.S. actions
and intentions.”
On that basis, he said, he was confident that U.S.-China
dialogue and military cooperation will continue “on a very
steady path.”
Russel stressed that the United States under the Obama
administration is following the same policy as previous
administrations since the normalization of ties between
Beijing and Washington.
“We have a one China policy. We have a one-China policy based
on our three joint communiqués,” he said.
He also pointed to Washington’s important unofficial relations
with Taipei, guided by the one-China policy and the Taiwan
Relations Act.
It was in that context, he said, that the U.S. is committed to
helping Taiwan defend itself.
Russel said the world has witnessed significant progress after
five years of cross-strait dialogue and agreements, which he
said is something “we all value and welcome.”
“Our policies and our goals aim at enhancing the stability
across the straits and in the region,” he said.
(By Tony Liao and Lilian Wu)
enditem/ls
EVA Air, Singapore Airlines
expand codeshare operations
Taipei, Dec. 11 (CNA) EVA Air,
Taiwan’s second-largest airline, said Thursday that Singapore
Airlines will codeshare its flights to the United States and
Canada from Friday as a result of an expanded codeshare
agreement between the two carriers.
Singapore Airlines passengers will as of Friday be able to fly
to Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, and John F. Kennedy
International Airport in New York as well Toronto and
Vancouver in Canada through Taiwan Taoyuan International
Airport, according to EVA Air.
“This mutually beneficial partnership gives both Singapore
Airlines and EVA passengers more flexibility in their flight
itineraries,” said Glenn Chai, EVA Air’s executive vice
president of corporate planning.
Friday will also mark the first anniversary of the start of
codeshare operations between the two companies, both Star
Alliance partners, on flights between Singapore and Taipei.
Singapore Airlines currently operates 14 weekly flights on the
route, while EVA Air operates 7.
“Our growing partnership with EVA Air is another example of
our efforts to leverage the Star Alliance to expand our
network reach and to offer customers travelling to and from
North America even more choice and convenience,” said Lee Wen
Fen, Singapore Airlines senior vice president of marketing
planning.
(By Lee Hsin-Yin)
ENDITEM/WH