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Taipei (AFP) May 1, 2011 A Chinese official rescue ship has arrived in Taiwan, making it the first government-owned vessel of its kind to visit the island in more than 60 years, an official said Sunday. In the latest sign of warming ties between Taiwan and its former bitter rival China, the 5,000-tonne Dong Hai Jiu 113 sailed from China's southeastern Fujian province to the island's central Taichung harbour Saturday. "The port call is expected to further understanding between Taiwan and the mainland," said Ying Liu-sheng, secretary-general to the Chinese Search and Rescue Association, a Taipei-based civil body and the host of the trip. Closer cooperation is needed as maritime accidents have been on the rise due to increasing traffic across the Taiwan Strait, he told AFP. The ship -- the first Chinese search-and-rescue vessel to come to Taiwan's shores in decades -- will also visit the island's Kaohsiung port in the south, Hualien in the east and Keelung in the north before it leaves on May 10. The symbolic visit comes after Taiwan and China staged their biggest ever joint maritime search and rescue drill off Kinmen, a Taiwan-controlled island group near China's Xiamen city, in September last year. China still considers Taiwan part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, even though the island has governed itself since 1949 at the end of a civil war. But ties have improved markedly since 2008 after Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang became president of Taiwan, beefing up trade, inaugurating direct flights and allowing more Chinese tourists to visit the island.
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Taiwan general sacked after failing 'loyalty' testTaipei (AFP) April 20, 2011 A Taiwanese general has become the first officer to lose his job for failing a "loyalty" test introduced after the island's worst espionage case in 50 years, media and officials said Wednesday. Like several other officers in key positions, the unnamed lieutenant general was subjected to a lie detector test, but is the only one not to pass so far, the Taipei-based China Times said. Defenc ... read more |
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