China Taiwan Province (ROC): News, Discussions & Images

[ahojunk]

The third typhoon in two weeks, really bad luck!
Hope everything is well prepared in Taiwan.

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Taiwan issues land, sea warnings for Typhoon Megi
2016/09/26 12:07:23

Taipei, Sept. 26 (CNA) The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) issued the first land warning for Typhoon Megi Monday morning, following a sea warning late Sunday, as the storm approached the island.

The land warning covers Yilan, Hualien and Taitung in northeastern and southeastern Taiwan, which are expected to start experiencing strong winds and heavy rain Monday, according to the CWB.

As of 11 a.m. Monday, Megi was centered 620 kilometers east-southeast of Hualien, moving at 22 kilometers per hour in a west-northwesterly direction toward Taiwan, the bureau's data showed.

The typhoon was carrying maximum sustained winds of 144 kph, with gusts of up to 180 kph.

The weather bureau issued a sea warning for Megi at 11:30 p.m. Sunday and a land warning at 11.30 a.m. Monday.

Megi is highly likely to make landfall in eastern Taiwan Tuesday, before sweeping across the island with powerful winds and heavy rain that will affect the island the most on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the CWB forecast.

(By Wang Shu-fen and Evelyn Kao)

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Taiwan's military prepares for Typhoon Megi
2016/09/26 15:49:24

Taipei, Sept. 26 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense (MND) on Monday mobilized 35,555 soldiers who are now on standby for Typhoon Megi, which is expected to make landfall in eastern Taiwan Tuesday.

The action was taken as the MND set up a disaster response center in preparation for any necessary rescue and relief operations when the storm hits, the ministry said.

The MND said it has also mobilized a total of ground 3,692 vehicles, boats and 14 S-70C helicopters and 123 rubber dinghies in the event of flooding or other damage from the typhoon, which is forecast to hit Taiwan directly Tuesday with winds of up to 191 kilometers per hour.

In addition, 14 AAV-7 amphibious assault vehicles and eight V-150 armored vehicles from the Marine Corps have been deployed to eight locations around the country for nationwide rescue missions, if necessary, according to the MND.

The military's emergency preparations include the deployment of 3,117 soldiers at 120 locations that are prone to landslides and flooding, the MND said, adding that its total emergency troop deployment ahead of the typhoon is 35,555.

It said 92 military camps across country have been designated as storm shelters in the event of evacuations before and during the storm.

As of 3:00 p.m. Monday, Megi was centered 530 kilometers east-southeast of Hualien, moving west-northwest at 22 kilometers per hour on direct path to Taiwan, Central Weather Bureau (CWB) data showed.

The typhoon was packing maximum sustained winds of 155 kph, with gusts of up to 191 kph, according to the bureau, which has issued land and sea warnings for the storm.

(By Lu Hsin-hui and Evelyn Kao)

 

[ahojunk]

Mainland tourists shunning Taiwan
2016-09-28 09:00 | China Daily | Editor: Feng Shuang

A significant drop in mainland visitors in the past few months has taken its toll
on the island's tourism economy.(Photo/Xinhua)​

Taiwan is expected to see fewer mainland tourists during the upcoming National Day holiday, as cross-Straits relations remain in stalemate.

Bookings for trips to Taiwan during the holiday from Oct 1 to Oct 7, also known as the Golden Week, dropped by 20 to 30 percent from last year, according to the China Youth Travel Service, a major tourism operator in China.

Meanwhile, Taiwan tourism professionals are predicting that the number of mainland travelers may drop by 44 percent year-on-year in 2016, according to media reports.

"The decline is mainly from group tourists, up to a 30 to 40 percent drop," said Li Zhi, general manager of the Taiwan center of China Youth Travel Service, adding that the number of tourists traveling independently has risen, but the rate of increase has slowed compared with previous years.

About 1,000 clients booked through the service for the Golden Week holiday, including group trips, hotels and document preparation.

Since 2008, when the island opened up to mainland travelers, the number of independent tourists had increased by at least 15 to 20 percent. But this year, the rise is only about 10 to 15 percent, Li said.

He added that seats usually are sold out before September, but this year seats have remained untaken right before the holiday at month's end.

Ctrip, a major online travel services provider, also has seen the change. The company reported that reservations to Taiwan have dropped. It also predicted that Taiwan's tourism-dependent businesses may have their "coldest" Golden Week during this National Day holiday.

"The preparation time needed to visit Taiwan has been reduced, mainly because there are no lines for the entry pass. Previously, customers during Golden Week in October booked six to eight weeks in advance, but now they can book four weeks before," said Sun Yu, head of the Taiwan region for Ctrip.

A travel advisory from the company called Taiwan "a good choice for tourists who want to avoid popular destinations and seek peace and quiet."

Taiwan's China Times newspaper reported this month that the island saw 30,771 mainland visitors during the National Day holiday in 2014 and 35,891 visitors last year. However, Taiwan tourism professionals have predicted that the number may drop below 20,000 this year, 44.3 percent less than last year.

Mainland tourism industry officials said the decline is mainly due to difficult cross-Straits relations and a number of negative incidents since May 20, such as a fatal bus fire and the erroneous launch of a missile that hit a fishing boat, killing the captain and injuring three of the crew.

"Group tourists who are mainly above 40 years old are affected mostly. They are more sensitive to politics. Comparatively, young travelers are less keen on politics, but the negative information in some ways also affects them," Li from the China Youth Travel Service said.

The number of mainland visitors to the island has plummeted since Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen took office in May. According to Taiwan authorities, mainland tourists in group tours declined by about 30 percent year-on-year in the period from May through July.

Liu Xiangping, head of the Institute of Taiwan Studies at Nanjing University, said the island's authority has contributed to an atmosphere that has "convinced" residents that visitors from the mainland are not well-behaved tourists.

"The attitude makes mainland travelers feel unwelcome and lose interest in Taiwan," he said.

For example, Liu said, the Taiwan government poorly handled the recent bus fire incident that killed 24 tourists from the mainland. "Especially, Tsai treated the victims from Taiwan and the mainland differently, which hurt mainlanders' feelings."

Tsai sent a condolence inscription to the memorial service of Cheng Kun-wen, the Taiwan tour guide killed in the incident, yet failed to do so for the 24 mainland tourists. Taiwan officials claimed they didn't receive such requests. Investigators concluded that the driver, who also died, intentionally caused the deadly incident.

The decline of mainland tourists has moved those in the Taiwan tourism industry to action.

In mid-September, more than 15,000 hospitality and tourism workers in Taiwan took to the streets in downtown Taipei, demanding the island's authorities do something about the weakness in the industry.

"The government has refused to acknowledge the 1992 Consensus since taking office in May. This has damaged all the hard work toward peaceful relations across the Taiwan Straits," said Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, in an earlier statement. "Whoever started the trouble should end it."

 

[ahojunk]

Good for Taiwan, hope it will have some tangible economic results.

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Taiwan, U.S. to hold major trade talks in Washington
2016/09/30 19:48:48

Wang Mei-hua (王美花, CNA file photo)​

Taipei, Sept. 30 (CNA) Taiwan and the United States will hold their latest round of talks under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) in Washington next week, which are expected to cover a wide range of trade and investment issues, in an effort to advance bilateral trade ties.

The talks are slated for Oct. 4, and the discussions will focus on priority issues to improve U.S.-Taiwan trade and investment ties, including intellectual property rights protection, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, investment, agriculture, and technical barriers to trade, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement Friday.

The two sides will also discuss regional and multilateral cooperation, Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said.

Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) will lead the Taiwan delegation, which will include officials from several government agencies, such as the Council of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the MOEA, the ministry said.

The U.S. delegation will be headed by Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Robert Holleyman and will include officials from the U.S. departments of state, agriculture and commerce, as well as the AIT.

The annual TIFA meeting plays a critical role in strengthening the U.S.'s "robust commercial ties with Taiwan and covers the broad range of trade and investment issues important to stakeholders in the U.S. and Taiwan," said the AIT, which represents U.S. interests in Taiwan in the absence of bilateral diplomatic ties.

The TIFA, signed in 1994, is the primary mechanism for dialogue on trade between the U.S. and Taiwan, and provides an opportunity for both sides to discuss how to expand trade and investment links and deepen cooperation.

(By Elaine Hou and Huang Li-yun)

 

[ahojunk]

Go Waist Deep Into the Largest Sunflower Farm in Northern Taiwan

Sunflower season is in full bloom in Taoyuan

By Jackie Mansky, smithsonian.com
September 30, 2016 7:00AM

It's sunflower season at the largest sunflower farm in Northern Taiwan. Located in Guanyin, Taoyuan, an estimated 10,000 crowns of yellow color the rows of farmland at Sun & Green between May and October each year.

The leisure farm was founded by Huang Yong-lin, a graduate of Pingtung University of Science and Technology’s program on plant industry, in 2001. He's since turned the land into a lush, 54,000 square-foot eco-paradise.

Sunflowers aren't native to Taiwan. But the blooms, perhaps best captured in popular imagination by Vincent van Gogh’s swirling studies in yellow, have become a mainstay in the Taiwan's northern fertile subtropical climate in recent years. The flower roots originally trace back to North America, where they was first cultivated as early as 3000 BC. Spanish explorers brought the seeds across the Atlantic during the 1500s, and by the early 19th century, Russians mass farmed the plant for its seeds and oil, making the sunflower explode in popularity around the globe.

Though floriculture or flower farming has been around in Taiwan since at least the 1600s, the country got into the flower market in a major way to meet market demands in the second half of the 20th century. By 1990, the acres of land used for flower cultivation had more than doubled over a five year period.

After Taiwan became a member of the World Trade Organization in 2002, so-called leisure farms, which grow flowers and high-quality foodstuff, became a way forward for Taiwan's agriculture industry, which struggled to compete head on with larger international markets, as Jens Kastner writes for Taiwan Today. To help boost these farms, Taiwan's government started promoting agricultural tourism to draw visitors the doorsteps of boutique growers, as well. In the words of the Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Wu-hsiung in 2008, the continued influx of flower fans has helped turn Taiwan into a "world-class flower island."

Taiwan’s bounty of sunflowers also stems from the country’s push against genetically modified crops. In 2012, the Council of Agriculture launched a fallow land revitalization program. The deal gives growers incentives to let farmland rest for a period of time before they plant non-GMO grains and crops. Bonus: Sunflowers act as a natural fertilizer, adding to the proliferation of the sunny blossoms in Taiwan. The bright flowers have become the poster plant for fallow land all over the country—not just because they're good for the soil, but also because they’re easy on the eyes.

The fields at Sun & Green are a sight to see. Yong-lin has bred his flowers to stand waist-high (typical sunflower stalks can range from 12 inches to more than 20 feet) so that visitors can easily pick their own plants. The farm also educates visitors on the sunflower growing process, explaining how they go from seed to bloom and why they've become beloved around the world.

There are at least 11 breeds of sunflowers growing at Sun & Green. But they're not just found in the fields; the farm's restaurant also cooks them up. While sipping a cup of sunflower tea might not seem too peculiar, visitors can also order up more imaginative mash-ups like sunflower sausage, sunflower ice cream and sunflower cookies.

Sunflower season will be over come November, but the farm itself operates year round, growing lavender and snapdragons in the winter and lilies in the spring. Holding out for the bright yellow blooms? Watch them take a final bow in Taiwan as part of the spectacular Xinshe Sea of Flowers Festival, which brings a rainbow of color to Taichung every November.


Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/trave...orthern-taiwan-180960604/#1rvDccjB7qIVZi37.99

 

[ahojunk]

Taiwan seeks talks with China on extra Lunar New Year flights
2016/10/02 14:05:57

Taipei, Oct. 2 (CNA) The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said Sunday it hopes to hold talks with Beijing on adding flights across the Taiwan Strait during the Lunar New Year holiday despite a cooling in relations between the two sides.

A mechanism is in place for negotiating additional Lunar New Year flights each year to handle the usual crush of passengers, and the CAA will try setting up a meeting between the two sides in the near future, said CAA head Lin Kuo-hsien (林國顯).

The agency admitted, however, that it was not confident the annual talks on extra flights will come about because of stalled bilateral ties since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took power in May.

The talks would be held in Taiwan this year based on the past rotation.

China has cut off dialogue with Taiwan over the DPP government's refusal to accept the "1992 consensus" that was at the foundation of ties between the previous Kuomintang government and Beijing.

Under the consensus, the two sides agreed there is only "one China," with the two sides free to interpret what that means.

China has tried to put pressure on the DPP government by reducing the number of tourists China sends to Taiwan and subjecting Taiwan to increasing pressure in the international community.

Most recently, Taiwan was not invited to attend the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) general assembly currently taking place in Montreal because of China's objections.

There are currently 890 weekly flights between Taiwan and China, but demand spikes during the Lunar New Year when Taiwanese working in China return home for the holiday.

(By Wang Shu-fen and Lee Hsin-Yin)

 

[ahojunk]

Zika is spreading all over the world. Can't stop it.
Take precautions when travelling in SEA.

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Taiwan reports 9th imported Zika case
2016-10-02 10:39 | Xinhua | Editor: Wang Fan

A 51-year-old man who traveled to Vietnam with his wife last month was confirmed to have been infected with the Zika virus, Taiwan's center for disease control said Saturday.

It is the ninth case of imported Zika virus infection in Taiwan, according to the center.

The man developed symptoms, including fever and cough, on Sept. 23, and sought medical assistance on Sept. 25 after developing a rash on his trunk and limbs, according to the center, which added the man had been asked to prevent mosquito bites and isolate himself till Oct. 4.

Prior to the case, a 63-year-old man who visited Vietnam with his family from Aug. 28 to Sept. 4 was also confirmed to have been infected with the virus, the center said.

According to the center, it was determined that both cases became infected with the virus in Vietnam. Other cases were from countries including Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore, it added.

 

[ahojunk]

Mon Oct 3, 2016 | 5:40am EDT
Mega Financial scandal claims first Taiwan administration victim as top regulator quits

Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) chairman Ding Kung-Wha (L) and Mega Financial's chairman Michael Chang attend a parliamentary session at Legislative Yuan in Taipei, Taiwan September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

By Faith Hung | TAIPEI, Reuters

Taiwan's top financial regulator resigned on Monday as a scandal over state-run institution Mega Financial's (2886.TW) New York bank branch breaching anti-money laundering regulations claimed its first victim among officials on the island.

Ding Kung-Wha, the chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), stepped down amid mounting criticism over the watchdog's effectiveness. The Mega Financial branch was fined $180 million by U.S. authorities for violations of rules including lax attention to risk exposure in Panama.

In a statement released by the FSC, Ding, 62, said he hoped his resignation would reduce damage to the FSC over the Mega Financial scandal. President Tsai Ing-wen has said the case had damaged Taiwan's reputation and created public mistrust about supervision of the financial sector.

But Tsai's opponents on the island said the official's departure was a symbolic political gesture that put disproportionate blame on Ding, who only assumed his position with the FSC in May of this year. A veteran of Taiwan's administration not widely known in international finance circles, Ding previously served as chief of the Taipei Exchange and as a finance ministry official.

"Ding submitted his written resignation this morning," cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung said at a news conference. Hsu said Ding's view was that he had done as much as he could in his role as chairman to assist the investigation and efforts to improve the FSC.

Ding's successor has yet to be selected, Hsu said.

One potential candidate to replace him, according to political sources in Taipei, is Shih Jun-ji, current chairman of the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Shih has previously served a brief stint as the FSC's chief.

An emergency task force set up by President Tsai is now supervising a probe into the violations of U.S. regulations. But opposition politicians said Ding was carrying responsibility just a few months after taking office for transactions that did not originate in Taiwan itself.

Ding and some legislators held a closed-door meeting last week on details of 174 suspicious transactions belonging to 76 accounts processed in Mega's New York branch. None of the transactions were from Taiwan, according to Lai Shyh-bao, a prominent member of opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), and other people with direct knowledge of the matter.

"He (Ding) did not have to take responsibility," said Lai. "Some supporters of President Tsai thought he is too bureaucratic. He has financial expertise, but is not skilled in politics."

In addition to the Mega Financial scandal, the FSC has faced criticism over its handling of a case involving XPEC Entertainment, a Taiwanese gaming software developer. Investors in XPEC have suffered heavy losses after a tender offer for of a stake in the company by a Japanese suitor went sour, domestic media have reported, with some complaining the FSC should have taken regulatory action over the way the offer was managed.


(Reporting by Faith Hung; Additional reporting by Jeanny Kao and Emily Chan; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)

 

[TaiShang]

This thread is meant to share natural, social and cultural images from China's Taiwan Province in south China. Images of natural and man-made wonders, monuments, peoples, cultural relics...

Welcome all and enjoy the stay.

@AndrewJin , @cirr , @ahojunk , @Shotgunner51 , @Jlaw , @vostok , @Chinese-Dragon , @Jlaw , @oprih , @terranMarine , @Dungeness , @bbccdd1470 , @grey boy 2 , @cnleio , @Serpentine , @BRICSFTW , @Economic superpower , @onebyone , @Two et al.

***

First set of images:

劍潭山

士林區圓山劍潭山

Shilin District, Taipei

PS: @vostok , I had to delete the earlier thread as I started it in the (absolutely) wrong section -- some ghastly mistake. Along with, your comment also deleted. Apologies for that.

 

[TaiShang]

Temple parade in Taiwan (China)'s Taipei:

 

[TaiShang]

Jiangxi Taiwan economic and cultural cooperation conference kicks off
(Xinhua) October 17, 2016



Visitors try beverage from Taiwan during a Jiangxi Taiwan economic and cultural cooperation conference in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province, Oct. 16, 2016. The conference kicked off here Sunday with about 900 participants. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)



A visitor takes photos in front of an agriculture booth during a Jiangxi Taiwan economic and cultural cooperation conference in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province, Oct. 16, 2016. The conference kicked off here Sunday with about 900 participants. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)



Visitors are seen at a booth of Taiwan fruit during a Jiangxi Taiwan economic and cultural cooperation conference in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province, Oct. 16, 2016. The conference kicked off here Sunday with about 900 participants. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)

A visitor walks past a "LOVE" logo during a Jiangxi Taiwan economic and cultural cooperation conference in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province, Oct. 16, 2016. The conference kicked off here Sunday with about 900 participants. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)

 

[ahojunk]

Typhoon Sarika to land in south China Tuesday
2016-10-17 09:22 | Xinhua | Editor: Wang Fan

The national observatory on Sunday maintained its yellow alert, the second lowest level of a four-tier warning system, for Sarika, the 21st typhoon of the year.

At 10 a.m., the eye of the typhoon was above the South China Sea some 1,040 km to the southeast of Hainan Province, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said in a statement.

The typhoon will linger above the northern part of the South China Sea before making landfall in Hainan Tuesday morning.

From Sunday afternoon to Monday afternoon, heavy rain and gales are expected to affect China's southeastern coastal areas including Guangdong, Fujian and Hainan, the NMC said.

The NMC suggested local governments in affected areas take precautions against possible geological disasters.

China has a four-tier color-coded system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.


********

Typhoon season, one after another.
My sympathies to the folks impacted.

 

[ahojunk]

Beijing to hold forum on cross-Strait peaceful development
2016-10-12 13:31 | Xinhua | Editor: Xu Shanshan

A Chinese mainland spokesman said Wednesday that a forum on the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations will be held in Beijing on November 2 to 3.

The forum will be jointly hosted by non-governmental organizations from the mainland and Taiwan, with support from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Taiwan's Kuomintang (KMT) Party, said An Fengshan, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office.

According to a statement released Wednesday, KMT leader Hung Hsiu-chu will attend the forum in Beijing and also pay a visit to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.

About 200 delegates from across the Strait will take part in the forum covering politics, economy, culture, society and youth, An said.

The CPC and KMT have co-held the Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Culture Forum for 10 years, and it is an important platform for the two sides to boost peaceful cross-Strait relations, An said.

An stressed that the CPC and KMT will maintain communication on the common political basis of the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence."

"The two sides will continue to play an active role in maintaining peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and stability to boost the welfare of people from both sides," An said.

 

[ahojunk]

Emphatic 'no' in Penghu casino vote
The China Post news staff
October 16, 2016, 12:03 am TWN

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- In a referendum Saturday, Penghu residents gave an emphatic thumbs down to a proposal to build casinos on the island chain.

Voter turnout was 39.56 percent, the county said, and nearly 81 percent of voters rejected the proposal.

A breakdown of results shows 26,598 voters voted "no" to building a resort complex with attached gambling facilities, while only 6,210 voters said "yes." There were 216 invalid votes, according to the county.

Saturday's vote was the second of its kind held in Penghu County.

The first, held in September 2009, also resulted in a "no" to casinos in Penghu.

World-class Ecological Art Island

The anti-casino coalition issued a statement soon after Saturday's results were announced, stressing that it wanted "clean hometowns."

"We will categorically reject any similar project if raised in the future," the statement said.

The coalition also called for Penghu residents to shelve conflicts inflamed during the referendum process and to join forces with each other to create a better future for Penghu.

The group urged the central government to devote all-out efforts to develop Penghu into a "world-class ecological art island" and to scrap gaming clauses from the national Offshore Islands Development Act.

Although gambling is not allowed on Taiwan proper, the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment to the Offshore Islands Development Act in January 2009 allowing outlying islands to establish tourist casinos if locals agreed to it via referendum.

New Vote in Three Years Unlikely

Under the Referendum Act, identical referendums cannot be raised within three years of each other.

Chen Meng, convener of Penghu's pro-casino coalition, said that his group would not attempt to hold a similar referendum in three years.

He said he hoped the ruling Democratic Progressive Party would devote more effort to developing Penghu's economy and tourism.

Chen attributed the referendum results to President Tsai Ing-wen's public opposition to setting up casinos in Penghu, expressed during the run-up to the vote on Saturday.

Presidential Office Pledges Help for Penghu

Responding to the results, Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang said that through the referendum, Penghu residents had made their view clear.

"This is the embodiment of democracy and a kind of public participation that is worth encouraging," Huang said.

He said the government would — as President Tsai said recently — show its determination to carry out policies designed to boost the economic, cultural and educational development of Penghu County, to help residents have a better life and to give local children a nonpolluted environment.

Meanwhile, Penghu Magistrate Chen Kuang-fu said he "fully respects" the outcome of the referendum and that he intended to proceed with established policies for county development and promotion.

Chen said he hoped the central government would push to amend the Referendum Act and the Offshore Islands Development Act so as to avoid confrontation among residents every three years.

"(These laws) cause injury to (Penghu's) pure and simple residents and cause unnecessary trouble for the county government," Chen said.

Penghu County Council Speaker Chen Chao-ling, who previously expressed opposition to the casino project, said that though the timing of the referendum was not good, county residents had again demonstrated their wisdom by voting down the project.

Chen said the gaming industry was "not the only way to go" in Penghu.

For the benefit of Penghu residents, the central government should provide financial support and clear directions for developing Penghu tourism, she said.

 

[powastick]

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has demonstrated a high degree of flexibility by aligning his country's economic future with China's "belt and road" project, while trying to retain his country's security alliance with the United States and Japan.

A typical pragmatist, Duterte got elected on a platform to help middle- and lower-class people to improve their economic lot, to crack down on drug dealers, and to upgrade the country's infrastructure.

He feels that U.S. and Japanese pledges of support for his country are just lip service, while China's "belt and road" project, which is already benefiting other Association of Southeast Asian Nations members, could immensely boost the Philippines' economic prospects.

By choosing not to confront China on the South China Sea issue, Duterte has adopted a clearly logical line of thinking: Stand-offs won't create economic prosperity, while mutual respect and benefit-sharing should serve as the guidelines for befriending your neighbors.

If he had chosen to enforce an international tribunal ruling on disputed islands in the South China Sea, there would have been no way of avoiding military conflict -- which would only lead to mutually destructive results. By that time, it would be too late to claim the benefits of asserting sovereignty over the small islets in the contested area.

Duterte knows that the Philippines is no rival to China's military and, judging from numerous examples in post-World War II history, the U.S. definitely will not sacrifice itself for the sake of the Philippines.

So, his conclusion is: Only by maintaining balanced, multilateral strategic alliances with key players in the region -- which means not being a plaything in any other's hands -- can the Philippines ensure the best national interest for itself.

In contrast, the increasingly cool relations between Taiwan and China are now on the verge of conflict. Taiwanese leaders could learn something from Duterte in this regard.

If the Philippines can shed sovereignty disputes with China to engage the latter on a road of rapprochement and win-win situation, why cannot Taiwan do the same, since it shares cultural roots with China and already has a solid foundation of peaceful exchanges with that country?

In fact, there are good conditions for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to cast off their animosity, nurture mutual trust and follow a path toward a mutually beneficial mode of exchange and cooperation.

Remember Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, who betted too heavily on Washington, forgetting the historical lessons of the U.S. abandoning its allies.

If Tsai Ing-wen's (蔡英文) Democratic Progressive Party administration relies too heavily on the U.S. for its national security, there will be a risk of Taiwan's "Cubanization."

From the Prague Spring and the Vietnam War in the 1960s up until the recent Georgia and Crimea being invaded and annexed by Rusaia, where are Washington's security assurances? Can the Tsai government remain unalarmed by Duterte's change of direction?

 

[ahojunk]

KMT leader to make trip to mainland
2016-10-25 09:16 | China Daily | Editor: Feng Shuang

Hung Hsiu-chu attends a press conference in Taipei, March 26, 2016. (Photo/Xinhua)​

First official visit of Kuomintang party's new chairwoman expected to boost cross-Straits ties

Hung Hsiu-chu, chairwoman of Taiwan's Kuomintang party, will pay a five-day visit to the Chinese mainland starting on Sunday, the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office announced on Monday.

It will be Hung's first visit to the mainland since becoming head of the KMT on March 30.

It also will mark the first visit by the KMT's leader since the party lost the island's leadership and its legislative majority to the Democratic Progressive Party in January.

Before Hung arrives in Beijing to attend a forum on cross-Straits relations on Nov 2, she will visit Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, where the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum is located, according to An Fengshan, spokesman for the office. Sun was the founding father of the KMT.

A detailed schedule for the visit has not yet been decided, including whether President Xi Jinping will meet with Hung. An said both sides are working on the agenda.

"Hung's visit will certainly have a very positive influence on cross-Straits relations," said Ni Yongjie, deputy director of the Shanghai Institute of Taiwan Studies.

The Nov 2 meeting that Hung will attend - the Cross-Strait Trade, Economy and Culture Forum - is jointly hosted by nongovernmental organizations from the mainland and Taiwan and has played an important role and generated fruitful results since it was established a decade ago, according to Ni.

About 200 delegates from across the Straits will take part in the forum to discuss politics, economy, culture, society and youth.

Ni said the meeting between Xi and then Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou, a former KMT chief, which took place in Singapore last November, greatly improved the level of exchanges and trust between the two sides, and the possible meeting between Xi and Hung will also benefit the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.

Hung was once the KMT candidate for the island's leadership, but was replaced by Eric Chu, then chairman of KMT, before the final vote.

Chu resigned after the party lost the election, and Hung became its new leader. She has been nicknamed "Little Chili Pepper" by locals for her straightforward style.

Ni said he believes that Hung and the KMT will maintain communication based on the 1992 Consensus, which affirms the one-China policy and opposes "Taiwan independence".

"Without endorsement of the 1992 Consensus, the ruling DPP has brought cross-Straits relations into a cold period," Ni said, adding that Tsai Ing-wen, chairwoman of the DPP, declined to clear up her stance on the 1992 Consensus in her latest speech this month.