President Chen Shui-bian's (
Lee Yuan-tseh (
PHOTO: YEH CHIH-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
"What happened was, at the APEC meeting Lee Yuan-tseh, the representative from Taiwan, came to President Hu and they did have a brief conversation," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan (孔泉) said, according to news wire reports. "The core element of their conversation was that President Hu emphasized that the `one China' principle must be adhered to. So if Lee Yuan-tseh called the meeting cordial, it must be because they discussed the `one China' principle."
Lee declined to comment on Kong's allegation of his having discussed the "one China" principle.
While Lee said that he would reiterate the recent string of goodwill gestures extended by Chen when he met Hu, Lee said that he failed to do so on Sunday because as a scientist, he disliked repetition and he believed that Hu must have learned of the message from the media.
When asked whether Chen would feel disappointed over his failing to deliver the message to Hu, Lee said that he did not think the president would be disappointed.
"The time was so limited that it was hard to discuss such complicated issues [as cross-strait relations] and it's not the main purpose of my trip," he said. "I come here as a scientist representing Taiwan to discuss economic and scientific issues at an economic forum. I don't think it's appropriate to discuss such a complex issue in such a short time. Besides, it's the responsibility of the president to improve cross-strait relations."
Describing Hu as a friendly person and someone who can easily talk, Lee said that the atmosphere of their conversation was cordial, and he felt a sense of trust and goodwill from him.
As Chen has extended goodwill gestures to China in several occassions, Lee said that the ball is in Beijing's court.
"It's as if I like a woman so much that I want to marry her, but I won't be able to do it if she doesn't trust me," he said.
"The best thing for me to do here is to try to establish friendship and mutual trust with Hu. I know many people have a lot of expectations for me. I did my best, but I hope you realize that it's impossible for me to turn things around in a couple of days."
In other news, Japan will soon grant Taiwanese tourists a visa-free privilege, Lee said.
"Prime Minister Koizumi took the initiative to tell me that Taiwanese tourists would soon be entitled to visa-free entry," Lee said.
When asked whether the visa-free entry is a permanant measure for Taiwanese tourists or only a temporary move for the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi, Lee said Koizumi did not elaberate.
"Since our meeting was brief, we did not have enough time to discuss related details," Lee said.
The Sankei Shimbun, a major Japanese daily, last week carried a front-page story saying the Japanese government was working to grant Taiwanese tourists a visa-exempt status from next March until September in a bid to attract Taiwanese tourists to the Aichi exposition.
Japan has granted Taiwanese tourists a 3-day landing visa. For longer stays in the country, Taiwanese residents have to apply for a visa in advance.
Lee also met with Chilean President Ricardo Lagos Escobar.
Also see story:
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS