A Taiwan delegation headed by Han Kuo-yu (C), mayor of Kaohsiung, visits Xiamen, East China's Fujian province on March 26. [Photo/VCG] Trade deals worth more than 1 billion yuan ($149 million) have been signed during Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu's first visit across the Taiwan Straits, selling the city's agricultural and fishery products to mainland cities. These achievements reflect that the two sides belong to one family, fully demonstrating that on the basis of adhering to the 1992 Consensus and one-China policy, city exchanges across the Straits have broad prospects, An Fengshan, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Wednesday. Han, a rising star in Taiwan's Kuomintang party, arrived in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Friday, leading a delegation of about 30 officials and business executives from Kaohsiung. The weeklong visit by Han, who assumed office in December, includes the Hong Kong and Macao SARs, Shenzhen in Guangdong province and Xiamen in Fujian province. The trip is scheduled to conclude on Thursday. Han and his group signed agreements worth 400 million yuan during their stay in Shenzhen and Xiamen, over 500 million yuan in Hong Kong and about 160 million yuan in Macao, according to the spokesman. The agreements on selling Kaohsiung's agricultural and fishery products to mainland cities were signed in accordance with the market-oriented operation mechanism, An said at a regular news conference. Kaohsiung was also invited to join trade and culture exhibitions held in Xiamen every year, including the Straits Forum and China International Fair for Investment and Trade to boost economic ties. Xiamen will hold cultural activities, including a South Fujian dialect chorus show, in Kaohsiung, according to An. In addition, Shenzhen will provide 200 internships and jobs for young people in Kaohsiung every year. Xiamen Air will visit Taiwan again this year to recruit 200 flight attendants, and 100 spots will be set aside for Kaohsiung, he said. Travel agencies in Shenzhen and Xiamen will be encouraged to organize tours to Kaohsiung under the market mechanism, and 8,000 tourists are expected to travel to Kaohsiung in groups, An said, adding Xiamen-to-Kaohsiung cruises will be arranged as soon as possible. The spokesman said that through the trip, a consensus was reached on building a cross-Straits city exchange mechanism, showing bright prospects for strengthening cooperation with Kaohsiung. We support more cities on both sides in strengthening exchanges on the basis of the 1992 Consensus and working together for development, so our compatriots in Taiwan will have a greater sense of gain, he added. Speaking of the criticism from the Democratic Progressive Party and some Taiwan independence forces on the visit, An said that the DPP administration's obstruction and interference in cross-Straits city-level cooperation exposes their true motive, to damage Taiwan compatriots' interests and well-being for their own ends. Only when cross-Straits relations are good will Taiwan be better, he said. We hope that compatriots on both sides will oppose 'Taiwan independence' and actively promote the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations. Xinhua contributed to this story. order rubber bracelets cheapcheap personalized silicone wristbands no minimummake custom bracelets onlineanimal bracelets rubber bandshow to do rubber band bracelets
A file photo of the People's Liberation Army Navy honor guard. [Photo/VCG] Emerging plan may feature nation's second aircraft carrier, new destroyer China will host a multinational naval activity on April 23 in Qingdao, Shandong province, to honor the 70th birthday of the People's Liberation Army Navy, according to a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense. Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, deputy head of the ministry's information office, told reporters at a news conference on Thursday afternoon that the activity has been approved by the Central Military Commission, and detailed information about it will be published later. The PLA Navy said in a statement on Thursday that it welcomes reporters to cover the activity and that a media center in Qingdao will start receiving journalists on April 20. Sources close to the Navy told China Daily that the activity is highly likely to comprise a massive sea parade of major ships, submarines and aircraft from the Navy, along with vessels from other countries, noting it is also likely to be even larger and more spectacular than the sea parade in the South China Sea on April 12, 2018, that involved more than 10,000 Navy personnel, 48 ships and submarines and 76 naval aircraft. Wu Peixin, a defense industry observer in Beijing, said the April 23 activity will be a good occasion for the Navy to showcase the latest hardware delivered during the past year. I am looking forward to seeing the participation of the second aircraft carrier, the Type 055 destroyer and the latest aircraft, he said. However, whether the second aircraft carrier will be ready for this parade - which is likely to be its public debut - depends on its sea trial schedule. China's second aircraft carrier - the first to be designed domestically - is reported to have begun its fifth sea trial earlier this week. Observers have speculated that the new carrier will be commissioned before April 23 so it can appear in the unprecedented demonstration of the country's naval prowess. The Chinese military said the colossal vessel displaces more than 50,000 metric tons and will have stronger fighting capability than the CNS Liaoning, the Navy's first carrier, which was refitted from an unfinished Soviet Union vessel. Meanwhile, if the Type 055 guided-missile destroyers, widely believed to be the mightiest of its kind in the world, can take part in the coming parade, they will be further testament to the PLA Navy's growing strength. The 10,000-ton destroyer, usually designated as a cruiser by foreign observers, is equipped with what are believed to be the most advanced radars and missiles in the world and has more than 100 vertical launch cells capable of firing various kinds of projectiles. At least four Type 055 ships have been built, while the first of them is said to be very close to being commissioned. An insider in China's military shipbuilding industry who asked not to be named said he hoped the electromagnetic railgun being tested by the Navy could be displayed in the coming parade. If it can show up in the parade, it will tell the world that we are the first to have deployed this state-of-the-art weapon, which will have the power to reshape the future of naval warfare, he said.
