Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

TIFA trade talks return after five years

Taipei Times

From left, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi, Minister Without Portfolio John Deng, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng, Office of Trade Negotiations Deputy Trade Representative Yang Jen-ni and Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan attend a news conference in Taipei yesterday after the 11th Trade and Investment Framework Agreement trade talks between Taiwan and the US.
Photo courtesy of Executive Yuan

After a five-year hiatus, the 11th Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) trade talks between Taiwan and the US yesterday began with a virtual meeting, with the two sides agreeing to hold more “working groups” and to discuss a number of topics throughout the year to consolidate bilateral trade relations, government officials said.

Nation eyes Moderna production

Taipei Times

The National Health Research Institutes in Nangang District, Taipei, is pictured yesterday.
Photo: Cheng Ming-hsiang, Taipei Times

The National Health Research Institutes is reportedly preparing to initiate talks with Moderna Inc for authorization to manufacture its COVID-19 vaccine in Taiwan, a local magazine said yesterday.

All parties must come to an end

Pei Minxin 裴敏欣

Human beings approaching 100 normally think about death, but political parties celebrating their centennial, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will on Thursday, are obsessed with immortality.

Such optimism seems odd for parties that rule dictatorships, because their longevity records do not inspire confidence. That no other such party in modern times has survived for a century should give China’s leaders cause for worry, not celebration.

One obvious reason for the relatively short lifespan of communist or authoritarian parties is that modern party-dominated dictatorships, unlike democracies, emerged only in the 20th century.

Tactless China is creating conflict

Hong Tsun-ming 康駿銘

In 2011, Taiwan and Hong Kong reached an agreement that the nation’s representative office in Hong Kong should be named the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, forgoing the sensitive terms “Taiwan” and “Republic of China (ROC)” to be able to exchange documents for the mutual benefit of Taiwan and Hong Kong, and to provide services to their citizens.

When the Hong Kong government made agreeing to the “one China” principle a condition for issuing work permits to Taiwanese staff at the office, it left the Mainland Affairs Council with no option but to refuse signing a document that belittles Taiwan’s national dignity.

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