The government rejected a proposal from Beijing to negotiate with Taiwanese aviation representatives about cross-strait flights yesterday, saying that discussion was impossible under the shadow of the military threat from China.
Just three days before China is slated to pass legislation that would set the stage for military aggression against Taiwan, Chinese aviation official Pu Zhaozhou (
Pu extended the invitation in his non-governmental capacity as the Chinese Civil Aviation Association executive director and Straits Aviation Exchange Commission vice chairman.
Beijing has been pushing for co-operation on cross-strait chartered passenger flights during Tomb-sweeping Day, which this year falls on April 5.
The invitation, however, was received with scorn in Taipei, with the nation's top cross-strait policymaking body saying the proposal was a thinly disguised attempt at bringing about political unification with China.
"The Taiwanese people can see right off the bat that this is just part of China's `war for unification,'" Mainland Affairs Council Spokesman Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) said.
Asked whether the government would accept Pu's invitation, Chiu responded: "Given the military threats from Beijing, could we possibly accept?"
Lo also confirmed that he would not be taking up China's offer.
"It's impossible that I go, as the government has not authorized me to do so," Lo said yesterday afternoon, indicating that he planned to relay the government's decision to Pu soon.
As the government's authorized representative, Lo hammered out an agreement with Pu in January that resulted in Lunar New Year chartered direct flights.
When Beijing first proposed last month another round of flights next month, Taiwan had said at the time that it would have to complete its assessment of the Lunar New Year flights before making a decision on Tomb-sweeping Day flights.
As Taiwan had earlier set cross-strait cargo flights as a priority, China's call for passenger charters next month was given a lukewarm reception.
Chiu said that government agencies had met earlier this month to review the impact the Lunar New Year flights had on cross-strait relations, but said that the "anti-secession" law added a new dimension to deliberations.
"The anti-secession law will inevitably become another factor we consider in assessing future opportunities for cross-strait exchange" Chiu said yesterday morning during a scheduled press conference.
Cabinet spokesman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) echoed Chiu's sentiments, telling the Bloomberg newswire yesterday that Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) would not "make any decisions [on closer air links] in the next week or two because the atmosphere with the passage of the anti-secession law isn't good."
Bloomberg further quoted Cho as saying "We don't want to respond to China's bad intentions with a goodwill gesture. We just want to wait and see."
Chiu warned that the bill would cause considerable backlash in Taiwan and that the ambiguous terms Beijing had employed in its proposed anti-secession bill would further strain relations. He pointed out that "non-peaceful means" could be anything, citing military blockades, economic embargos, and diplomatic intimidation as possibilities.
Chiu also said that the ambiguity of China's anti-secession bill was enough to put a halt to the perceived warming in cross-strait relations in recent months.
"What concerns us more is the bill's reference to `other necessary measures.' The uncertainty that this phrase poses will be a significant assault on future cross-strait economic cooperation," Chiu said.
also see story:
Freeze on charter flight talks urged
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
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,”
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
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.
RSS