13/04/2026

MONDAY | APR 13, 2026

8

China offers incentives to Taiwan

becoming united will not change”. Cheng echoed that sentiment at a later news conference, calling on younger generations to “avoid war” by “opposing Taiwan independence”. China refuses to speak to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, saying he is a “separatist”. He rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims over the democratically governed island. China and Taiwan have blamed each other for the lack of a resumption of large-scale Chinese tourism to the island after the 2020 public health scare. Taiwan has also previously complained about Chinese restrictions on imports of certain agricultural and aquatic products, saying China has in some cases used unjustified excuses to stop the spread of pests and diseases. – Reuters/AFP

“unilateral concessions” are merely poisoned pills packaged as “generous gift packages”. The Taiwanese government supports healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but they should not be subject to political preconditions or objectives, it said. KMT Vice-Chairman Chang Jung-kung said in a news release the measures were “highly welcome”. “They are particularly in line with the expectations of various sectors in Taiwan and constitute a significant boost to the peaceful development of cross-strait relations,” Chang said. The announcement came two days after Cheng’s closely watched meeting with Xi. Xi told Cheng during their talks that “the general trend of compatriots on both sides of the Strait getting closer, edging nearer and

agency, “explore” the establishment of a regular communication mechanism between the KMT and China’s Communist Party, the full resumption of flights between the two sides and permission for individuals from Shanghai and Fujian province to visit Taiwan. A mechanism will be established to ease inspection standards for food and fishery products, but that has to be on the political foundation of “opposing Taiwan independence”, Xinhua said. Taiwanese TV dramas, documentaries and animation will be allowed to be shown as long as they have “correct orientation, healthy content, and high production quality”, the news agency said. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, which is in charge of the island’s China policy, said in a statement that Beijing’s so-called

o Kuomintang chief welcomes 10 measures

BEIJING: China yesterday unveiled 10 new incentive measures for Taiwan, including easing tourist curbs, allowing in “healthy” television dramas and facilitating food sales, following a visit by the island’s opposition leader. The move comes at the end of a trip to China by Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s largest opposition party. She met President Xi Jinping and talked about the need for peace and reconciliation. The 10 measures, unveiled by Xinhua news Haiti fort stampede kills at least 30 PORT-AU-PRINCE: A stampede at an historical fortress in Haiti has killed at least 30 people, a government minister said yesterday, with the crush reportedly involving several young visitors. “The ministry has confirmed the deaths of 30 people at the Citadelle Henri on Saturday,” Culture Minister Emmanuel Menard told AFP in a written message. “The injured are receiving the necessary medical care, and a rescue team is searching for any missing persons,” Menard said, without giving an exact figure of those injured. Citadelle Henri, also known as Citadelle Laferriere, is a 19th-century fortress and popular tourist spot. The Unesco World Heritage Site was closed to visitors “until further notice”, Menard said. Haiti’s Prime Minister’s Office expressed “deep sadness” in a government statement posted on Facebook, adding that the crush occurred during “a tourist activity bringing together many young people”. Jean Henry Petit, head of the civil protection office in Northern Haiti, told local newspaper Le Nouvelliste that the toll could rise due to the large number of people reported missing. Several dozen people were also injured and taken to hospital, the outlet reported. Initial reports said visitors, mostly young people, were crammed against a single entrance and a scuffle broke out between those trying to leave and enter the site. Other news reports said the gathering took place after being advertised on social media. AFP was not able to immediately confirm the reports. The government urged citizens to “be calm and cautious” while it investigates. – AFP

BOUNTIFUL BLESSINGS ... A priest sprinkling holy water yesterday on those present ahead of a festive meal during Orthodox Easter celebrations at the Pokrovsky (Intercession) men’s monastery in the settlement of Novoaleksandrovka in the Omsk region, Russia. – REUTERSPIC

Japan recognises new bird species

TOKYO: A songbird population that breeds on remote islands in southwestern Japan has been recognised as genetically distinct, giving the country its first new bird species in 45 years, Kyodo News reported. The newly named Tokara leaf warbler, from the Tokara Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture, had long been considered the same species as the Ijima’s leaf warbler found more than 1,000km

team of biologists from institutions in Japan, China and Sweden to investigate the relationship. According to their research published in the March edition of the international academic journal PNAS Nexus , genetic analysis showed a deep split, with the two lineages estimated to have diverged around 2.8 to 3.2 million years ago. – Bernam

away in the Tokyo-administered Izu Islands. The two populations, which are summer visitors, are nearly indistinguishable to the naked eye, both showing an olive-green back, a grey head, whitish underparts and a pale orange lower bill. Doubts over whether the two populations were truly identical, given the vast geographic distance between them, led a multinational

Hungarians vote in landmark election BUDAPEST: Hungarians voted yesterday in an election that could end Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s 16-year hold on power, rattle Russia and send shockwaves through right-wing circles across the West. Voting in the election for the 199-seat parliament started at 6am local time (noon in Malaysia) and is due to close at 7pm.

Trump ally, over what they say is an erosion of Hungary’s democratic rule, media freedom and minority rights. For Hungary’s eastern neighbour Ukraine, an Orban defeat could mean the unblocking of a €90 billion (RM419 billion) European Union loan vital for Kyiv’s war effort. It would also deprive Russia of its closest ally in the EU. Orban has cast the election as a choice between “war and peace”. During campaigning, the government blanketed the country with signs warning that Tisza leader Magyar would drag Hungary into Russia’s war with Ukraine, something he strongly denies. Orban told supporters: “If we know ourselves well, if we know our country well and if we know our own people well, then I must say Hungarians will vote for safety.” – Reuters

“I think we need change in the country. We need an improvement in public mood, we are full of tensions in many areas and the current government only fuels these sentiments,” said Mihaly Bacsi, 27, after casting his vote for Tisza in a Budapest polling station. Pollsters said the election could bring record turnout. “It would be important to return to our Western commitment, this is where Fidesz also started a long time ago and it could be that we will return to the Western path without (Fidesz).” The vote is being closely watched in Brussels, with many EU peers criticising Orban, a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a close

Orban, a eurosceptic nationalist, has carved out a model of an “illiberal democracy” seen as a blueprint by Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement and its admirers in Europe. But many Hungarians have grown increasingly weary of Orban, 62, after three years of economic stagnation and soaring living costs, as well as reports of oligarchs close to the government amassing more wealth. Opinion polls have shown Orban’s Fidesz party trailing Peter Magyar’s upstart centre-right opposition Tisza party by 7-9 percentage points, with Tisza at around 38-41%.

Orban voting in Budapest yesterday. – REUTERSPIC