President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday said a nine-member task force, including at least one member of the pan-blue camp, had been mobilized to promote his "peace and stability" framework for cross-strait interaction.
"After winning the presidential election on March 20, the task force will begin operations and station a representative in Beijing," Chen said during an interview with the Kyodo News agency.
On the eve of the nation's first TV debate for presidential candidates, Chen expanded on his referendum plan and how the debate would be framed.
Chen said he had invited nine people of considerable influence, including members of different political parties and five respected figures from the private sector, to join the task force.
But he declined to reveal their names.
"I will make public the names of the task force and then ask it to recommend a representative to be based in China," he said.
Chen said the task force had been established to realise the verdict of the referendum, and to serve as a demonstration of his sincerity in improving cross-strait ties.
"China has always said that it wants to hear the voice of the Taiwanese people. If that is the case, 23 million Taiwanese people will express their voice through this referendum and clearly display their support for the government's policy," Chen said.
"We hope that China can respect the result of our referendum and sit down to talks with the new government," he said.
Chen also reaffirmed that if he won the election on March 20, his inauguration speech would further express his resolve to maintain the cross-strait status quo on the basis of the promises he has made over the last four years, in particular the "five noes" pledge he made at the 2000 inauguration ceremony.
"We may have to adjust our tactics more pragmatically to develop cross-strait policy ... But these actions will follow a clear and firm strategic stance," Chen said.
"The `five noes' statement ... which I made in 2000, I will maintain -- absolutely," Chen said,
"The wording may require some adjustment but the spirit of the entirety of the content will not be any different to that of my 2000 speech," he said.
"The main point is this: We will not only maintain the status quo but also protect the status quo from being changed," Chen said.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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