Tsai Ing-wen announces her resignation as chairwoman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after local elections in Taipei, Taiwan Nov 24, 2018. [Photo/Agencies] Taiwan's pro-independence ruling Democratic Progressive Party suffered a big defeat in the local elections on the island, winning only six of the 22 cities and counties, forcing Tsai Ing-wen to announce her resignation as leader of the party. Two experts shared their views with China Daily's Zhang Zhouxiang and Gao Qihui: DPP's stance has been at cost of people's interests The DPP's failure this time was rather heavy. A main reason for this is the DPP has made a series of moves over the two years since it took power that have harmed local residents' interests. In 2017, Taiwan's GDP growth was 2.65 percent, much lower than the world average of 3.7 percent, which in turn caused the living standards of many local families to fall. At the same time, Tsai's pension reform cut the welfare for many retirees. And when floods hit cities on the south of the island this summer, the DPP failed to render effective help to residents. But fundamentally, it is Tsai's refusal to uphold the 1992 Consensus that there is only one China that has brought the cross-Straits relationship to a halt since she took office, which has prevented Taiwan from benefiting from the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations. As a result, the number of mainland tourists to Taiwan has dropped by 40 percent since she entered office, which has caused the bankruptcy of tourism agencies in Taiwan and rising unemployment rates among tourist guides. Agriculture products, which previously accounted for a high percentage of Taiwan's products to the Chinese mainland, also became overstocked. The election shows people on the island consider the DPP's policies to be a failure. The Taiwan voters know where their interests are and if the ruling party chooses to ignore their interests it will pay. - Zhang Hua, an associate researcher at the Institute of Taiwan Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Voters judge administration's policies a resounding failure Although both political figures inside and outside the DPP have more than once challenged it, the DPP has continued to pursue independence for Taiwan. That is why, as soon as it took power in 2016, it overturned all the policies of the previous administration that benefited cross-Straits relations. Politically, it refuses to uphold the 1992 Consensus on one China that has served as the political foundation for the cross-Straits relationship. In economic relations, it has tried to distance itself from the Chinese mainland by curbing cross-Straits trade. While in its external relations, it has tried to get the United States and Japan to act as counterbalances to the Chinese mainland. Even in education and culture, it introduced new history textbooks for high school students, in which large parts of Chinese history were deleted. The majority of these measures have aroused the anger of the local residents because they serve the DPP's selfish political purposes at the cost of the residents' interests, even the island's future. The Chinese mainland has had to take multiple measures to curb the separatist moves of Tsai and the DPP, and it is the Taiwan residents that have suffered most over the past two years. Taiwan lost five of the 22 countries with which it had diplomatic ties, its economy has slowed, the island even had to give up the plan of new nuclear power plants and had to use highly-polluting thermal power plants instead. Instead of correcting their wrongs, Tsai and her colleagues have continually hyped up the cross-Straits issue and blamed the Chinese mainland for intervening in the election, yet they are no longer able to cheat the people. - Liu Xiangping, a senior professor on Taiwan studies, Nanjing University custom bracelets canada
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Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on April 9, 2019. [Photo/gov.hk] Strong ties between Hong Kong and Japan will facilitate the special administrative region's efforts to help strengthen connections between Japan and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, SAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Tuesday. Lam spoke at a symposium in Tokyo on the Greater Bay Area. In her speech at the symposium, Lam said she considers the Bay Area a new engine to propel the close ties between Hong Kong and Japan and called on Japanese companies to leverage Hong Kong's position to take advantage of business opportunities in the Bay Area. The symposium promoting the Greater Bay Area is the first such joint overseas effort by the governments of Guangdong province and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions since the release of the blueprint for the Bay Area in mid-February. Guangdong province Governor Ma Xingrui and Macao Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan Hoi-fan also attended the event. The symposium was attended by over 1,000 business executives and leaders from various sectors. Many hoped to see high-ranking officials from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao elaborate on the plans for the Greater Bay Area. The Bay Area has aroused the interest of many Japanese companies, including Line Corp, an emerging technology company. Line Executive Officer Shinichiro Murayama said the Bay Area is full of resources and has a strong business model, technology and talent. Some established enterprises, such as Japan-based multinational electronics giant Panasonic, already have a foothold in the Bay Area. The electronics manufacturer has offices in six cities, including Hong Kong, in the 11-city cluster. Panasonic officials, in a written reply to China Daily, called the Bay Area one of the most economic vibrant and open areas in China. The area will offer unprecedented opportunities for Panasonic, and the company stands ready to participate and contribute in the development of the Bay Area, the company said. The Bay Area covers nine cities in Guangdong province - Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing - as well as Hong Kong and Macao. The area, spanning 56,000 square kilometers, has a population of 71 million and had a gross domestic product of $1.6 trillion at the end of 2018, equivalent to 12 percent of the country's GDP. After the symposium, Lam met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Both expressed their hope to strengthen business ties. I want to further develop economic relations between Japan and Hong Kong, Abe said. Lam said she shared that aspiration, adding that both places can further enhance cooperation, particularly in elderly care services, in order to respond to the challenge of aging populations - an important issue in both places. Lam said Hong Kong and Japan already have close ties in trade, economic affairs and people-to-people exchanges. Japan is Hong Kong's fourth-largest merchandise trading partner and Hong Kong is Japan's eighth largest, according to the Trade and Industry Department of the Hong Kong SAR. About 1,400 Japanese companies operate in Hong Kong, and 47 percent of them have regional headquarters or regional offices in the city, the department said. Japan is also a popular destination for Hong Kong tourists and vice versa. There were 2.2 million visitors from Hong Kong that traveled to Japan in 2018, more than twice the number in 2014. There were 1.29 million visitors from Japan to Hong Kong in 2018, and over 450 flights every week between the two places. Abe said Lam came to Tokyo at a great time because the cherry blossoms are still in full bloom, and he hoped that more people from Hong Kong will visit Japan, which he said is having many international events this year.
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