In a bid to safeguard the country's interests, any agreement reached with China must have approval of the government, especially on issue pertaining sovereignty or the government's exercise of authority, Presidential Office spokesman Chen Wen-tsung (陳文宗) said yesterday.
Chen said the government had "no special comment" on exchanges between individuals or parties with Chinese officials following a report that People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
Chen also said that during a phone conversation between Presidential Secretary-General Yu Shyi-kun and PFP Secretary-General Chin Chin-sheng (秦金生) yesterday morning, Chin told Yu that Soong will talk with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) during his visit about the 10-point consensus he reached with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) on February 24.
With regard to the possibility of holding another meeting between President Chen and Soong, the Presidential Official spokesman yesterday said it has been open about the idea and that arrangements could be made at any time, so long as Soong is up for a meeting.
Responding to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) invitation to its chairman, the PFP said yesterday that it would be glad to send a party delegation along with Soong on his China visit. Before leaving, Soong will consider the views of both the pan-blue and pan-green camps, party officials added.
"We welcome the invitation. It indicates that China recognizes the influence of Soong in his efforts toward the peaceful development of cross-strait relations," said Chin at the PFP headquarters in Taipei yesterday morning.
Soong will most likely visit China early next month, said PFP spokesman Hsieh Kung-pin (謝公秉).
Chen Yunlin (
In the Xinhua News Agency report, Chen Yunlin was quoted as saying that the invitation extended by Jia Qinglin (
On April 1, Chen Yunlin repeated the invitation to Soong in an interview with local media network TVBS, and repeated Jia's March 31 statement that the CCP welcomes any political party chairman that supports the so-called "1992 consensus" and opposes Taiwan's independence.
Also speaking on the China invitation yesterday, PFP spokesman Hsieh Kung-pin (
To facilitate the planning of the trip, a PFP delegation headed by Chin will be sent head of Soong to hammer out the details. The delegation will leave by this weekend, Hsieh said.
Asked PFP which government agencies the PFP delegation will meet with, Hsieh would only say that the PFP was talking to the "appropriate people from the appropriate organization."
Responding to the upcoming Lien trip, both Hsieh and Chin said yesterday that the PFP is not competing with anyone with regard to meeting Chinese leaders.
Unlike the KMT, however, Hsieh hinted that the PFP was in communication with the Chen administration about the visit.
"We respect the ruling authorities, and Soong will form a consensus with ruling and opposition parties before going [to China]," Hsieh said in response to questions about whether Soong would meet with the DPP or with President Chen about the trip.
While the KMT has said it is open to having Lien communicate with Chen Shui-bian in a phone conversation, the party has maintained that Lien does not need to report to the government before his journey.
Meanwhile, planning for Lien's trip continued yesterday, with KMT Secretary-General Lin Feng-cheng (林豐正) and Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭), head of the KMT's culture and communications committee, leaving for Beijing yesterday morning.
Speaking at the airport before his departure, Chang said that during his trip, he and Lin would be talking to officials with the Taiwan Affairs Office. The departure date and agenda for Lien's trip would be discussed, Chang said.
additional reporting by Huang Tai-lin
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.
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