SA-TAIWAN Enews JANUARY 23RD, 2019 PUBLISHER: MATTHEW CHOU ISSUE 1
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Taipei Liaison Office in the RSA SA-TAIWAN eNews JANUARY 23RD, 2019 PUBLISHER: MATTHEW CHOU ISSUE 1 Representative Matthew W Chou and the staff of the Taipei Liaison Office in the Republic of South Africa would like to wish everyone a Happy Lunar New Year! President Tsai Affirms Taiwan Will Not Accept ‘One Country, Two Systems’ President Tsai Ing-wen said that Taiwan Instead of using suppression and intimi- has never accepted the “1992 Consen- dation to get the people of Taiwan to sus” because the definition of it used by submit, Tsai said that China must handle the Beijing authorities is “one country, cross-strait differences peacefully and on two systems” and this is resolutely op- the basis of equality. And finally, all ne- posed by the vast majority of the people. gotiations must be conducted by govern- ments or government-authorised agen- The nation will absolutely not accept cies. “one country, two systems” and public opposition to it forms a Taiwan consen- According to the president, these “four sus, Tsai said. President Tsai Ing-wen details the gov- musts” are the most crucial foundations ernment’s stance on cross-strait rela- in determining whether cross-strait ties Taiwan is willing to engage in negotia- tions at the Office of the President in develop in a positive direction. tions with China, but all political consul- Taipei City. (CNA) tations must be authorised and moni- Tsai urged China to accept the responsi- tored by the people, and no individual or bilities and act with the demeanour be- group has the right to represent the fitting a superpower, adding that the public in such talks, she added. two years. global community is waiting to see whether China can enact reforms and The president made the remarks in re- The future development of cross-strait become a trustworthy partner. sponse to a speech delivered by Chinese relations requires that China face the leader Xi Jinping earlier the same day in reality of the existence of the Republic of The people of Taiwan cherish their val- which he proposed further exploration China (Taiwan) and not deny the democ- ues and way of life, Tsai said. China of a “one country, two systems” scenario ratic system established by the people, should bravely move toward democracy for Taiwan. she said. so that it can truly understand these ideals and commitments, she According to Tsai, despite suffering many Beijing must also respect the commit- added. (Source: Taiwan Today) forms of suppression, Taiwan has faith- ment of the 23 million people of Taiwan fully fulfilled its responsibilities as a to freedom and democracy and not fos- member of the international community ter divisions or offer inducements to and contributed to cross-strait and re- interfere with the choices they make, gional peace and stability over the past she added. Representative Chou was invited to participate in a rice donation ceremony held by the Africa Tai- wanese Chamber of Commerce at Baghdad Informal Settlement of Ivory Park in Johannesburg. Representative Chou said that on behalf of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), he was delighted to share the 'Love from Taiwan' with the Taiwanese produced rice. He further stressed that Taiwan was once a recipient of international aid and that the government saw their humanitarian efforts as a way of paying forward the goodwill they had once received. Representa- tive Chou also expressed his genuine gratitude to the Africa Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce who actively care for the local disadvantaged people of South Africa. ISSUE 1 SA-TAIWAN ENEWS Headline News Page 2 MOFA Condemns China’s Campaign to Force Foreign Firms to Change Taiwan’s Designation Beijing’s repeated moves to impose its and international companies to change executive jurisdiction and political ideol- how they refer to Taiwan in early 2018. ogy on foreign businesses not only ex- pose its malicious intent but also violate The MOFA also called on the interna- the spirit of free international com- tional community to support Taiwan and merce, the MOFA said. resist China’s campaign of coercion to prevent Beijing from intensifying its in- Earlier this month, 66 firms that identi- timidation tactics. It urged countries fied Taiwan as a country were threat- where the affected companies are based ened by China with penalties if they did to assist them in refusing China’s unrea- The MOFA strongly condemns China’s not downgrade its status. The list of sonable demands. ongoing efforts to force international companies, which include Amazon.com corporations to change their designa- Inc., Apple Inc. and Nike Inc., was pub- The Chinese government should accept tion of Taiwan. (Staff photo/Chin lished in “The Blue Book on the Cyber that the Republic of China (Taiwan) exists Hung-hao) Rule of Law in China 2018” by the Insti- and that Taiwan is absolutely not subject tute of Law of the Chinese Academy of to its jurisdiction, the MOFA said. All ef- China’s outrageous demand on dozens of Social Sciences and the Internet Develop- forts to suppress Taiwan will only give major multinational corporations to ment Research Institution of Peking Uni- rise to antipathy among the people, force them to change the designation of versity. jeopardise cross-strait relations and un- Taiwan to “Taiwan, China” on their web- dermine regional peace and stability, it sites was strongly condemned by the According to the ministry, the threat is added. (Source: Taiwan Today) Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). yet another attempt by China to belittle Taiwan following its pressuring of airlines President Tsai Names Su Tseng - chang as Premier President Tsai Ing-wen named Su Tseng- once again. He pledged to do his out- chang as replacement for outgoing Pre- most to continue the program of re- mier Lai Ching-te during a news confer- forms enacted by Lai and respond to the ence at the Office of the President in will of the people. Taipei City. The president also extended her appre- At this critical juncture, Su, who previ- ciation to Lai, praising his efforts to ad- ously served as premier from 2006 to vance major policies such as the five-plus 2007, is the right candidate to assume -two industrial innovation initiative and the position given his abundant execu- Forward-looking Infrastructure Develop- tive experience, strong resolve and life- President Tsai Ing-wen (centre) is ment Program. long devotion to public service, Tsai said. joined by outgoing Premier Lai Ching- Lai implemented wide-ranging reforms According to the president, Taiwan will te (left) and his replacement Su Tseng- to enhance government efficiency and face significant challenges in 2019 such chang during a news conference at the improve the nation’s business environ- as the fallout from the U.S.-China trade Office of the President in Taipei City. ment, Tsai said, adding that the develop- war and Beijing’s continued attempts to (Courtesy of Office of the President) ment plans he crafted for Taiwan will belittle the nation. Su has the leadership help keep the country on the growth skills and determination to spearhead track. government efforts in boosting the local economy, defending democracy and magistrate of southern Taiwan's Ping- In his remarks, Lai said that with the safeguarding national sovereignty, she tung County from 1989 to 1993, magis- 2019 central government budget clear- added. trate of Taipei County, now New Taipei ing the Legislature the day before, the City, from 1997 to 2004, and secretary- time was ripe for him to leave. It has The appointment of Su followed the res- general of the Office of the President been the greatest honour of his life to ignation of Lai alongside the rest of the from 2004 to 2005. serve his country, he added. (Source: Cabinet ahead of a reshuffle. Taiwan Today) Su thanked the president for her trust In addition to premier, Su was formerly and the opportunity to serve the country ISSUE 1 SA-TAIWAN ENEWS Headline News Page 3 National Languages Development Act Passed by Legislature such as Hakka; Holo, also called Taiwan- MOC Minister Cheng Li-chiun said that ese; and indigenous languages, as well as passage of the bill marks a historic mile- Taiwan Sign Language. stone in the development of Taiwan’s multicultural society. The act will help Under the legislation, the government boost integration of language preserva- will work to perpetuate endangered tion resources across the public and pri- tongues through measures like making vate sectors and foster an environment lessons more readily available in kinder- conducive to the safeguarding of linguis- gartens. The languages are also expected tic heritage, she added. The Legislature’s passage of the na- to be introduced as elective subjects in tional languages development act elementary and high schools by 2022. According to the MOC, the law will cre- paves the way for enhanced measures ate a comprehensive national framework to safeguard Taiwan’s linguistic diver- The law also stipulates reward programs for the promotion and protection of all sity. (CNA) to encourage the study, use and promo- languages used by ethnic groups in Tai- tion of the languages throughout society. wan following the passage of the Indige- The national languages development act It further calls for the creation of a na- nous Languages Development and Hakka was passed by the Legislature in Taipei tional linguistic database and research Basic acts in June 2017 and January this City, paving the way for enhanced efforts mechanism, as well as the staging of year, respectively. to preserve and promote Taiwan’s lin- regular conferences on related issues. guistic diversity. Drafted by the ministry in 2016, the bill Also included in the act is a requirement was approved by the Cabinet.