Tourists watch as Lantern Festival is celebrated in Pingxi, New Taipei City, Taiwan, last year. [PHOTO/XINHUA] TAIPEI -- Taiwan's GDP grew 2.28 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, missing a previous forecast, according to the island's statistics agency Wednesday. The quarterly growth fell short of a forecast of 2.36 percent in August, mainly because of lower-than-expected growth in private consumption, the agency said. After seasonal adjustments, Q3 growth was 1.92 percent. Private consumption in the July-September period expanded by 1.9 percent year on year, slower than the 2.31-percent increase forecast in August, the agency said, citing falling demand for new cars, motorcycles and overseas trips, as well as eased turnover on the local stock market. Taiwan's GDP growth in the first and second quarter this year was 3.1 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively. custom silicone wristbandsblank wristbandssilicone wrist bandssilicone wristbands australiacolored silicone bracelets
Inheritor of Chinese woodblock printing technique teaches the technique to students attending a cross-Straits cultural exchange activity in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, July 29, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua] A spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Germany has refuted a report by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung over the Taiwan question, saying it violated the one-China principle and supported the Taiwan independence secessionists. The spokesperson said China resolutely opposed the report, which deliberately defied the one-China principle pursued by the German federal government and the international community and provided the Taiwan independence secessionists with media access. The influential Sueddeutsche Zeitung on Friday carried a report about an interview with Joseph Wu from Taiwan. The spokesperson said the Taiwan question is not about the so-called democracy. It is concerning the national interest of China. If some people try to gain sympathy by cloaking themselves in the image of international orphan and to pursue secessionist policies in disguise of human rights, they are destined to fail. The spokesperson said Taiwan is an indispensable part of China and maintaining national unity is the bottom line of all sovereign states including Germany. China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity must not be challenged. The spokesperson said China always supports the national unity of Germany, thereby it hopes Germany to take the same attitude to China. Germany needs to realize that the Taiwan independence secessionist activities on its soil would disrupt and harm China-Germany bilateral relations and regional stability. China expects that German people can place themselves in China's position, and better understand Chinese people's pursuit for national unity, the spokesperson concluded.
