On the eve of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, MAC Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) reminded Lien and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) that only the government has the right to negotiate with the Chinese authorities.
Wu said that according to the law, political parties cannot sign agreements of any form with China.
"It is also improper for them to reach verbal deals with China," he warned. "They may break the law if they do so."
Political parties, Wu explained, are different from civic groups in nature; therefore, their leaders' trips to China are not the same as exchanges between unofficial groups from China and Taiwan.
Political parties should keep their activities within acceptable boundaries and understand what their responsibilities are to the nation and the Taiwanese people.
"They are not only responsible for their party members or their own personal status in history," Wu added.
In the "Anti-Secession" Law that it enacted last month, Beijing lowered the status of Taiwan to that of a local government and authorized the use of "non-peaceful" means against Taiwan's 23 million people, Wu said.
He urged Lien and Soong to inform the Chinese authorities of true feelings of the Taiwanese people, who "strongly oppose China's passage of the Anti-Secession Law."
A number of polls have proven that dislike of the Chinese law is widespread among the Taiwanese people, Wu said.
The two chairmen, Wu added, should remind Beijing that the Republic of China (ROC) is a sovereign country and that different governments control the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
"Only Taiwan's 23 million people have the rights to decide any change of the future of the ROC. [The chairmen] should make these points clear to the Chinese leaders. This is their responsibility as leaders of political parties," Wu said.
He repeated that the government wants to normalize cross-strait exchanges in order to increase mutual understanding between the two sides.
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
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Hsu Wen-erh (許汶而) on Friday became the first Taiwanese to swim solo across the English Channel, saying she was very happy to bring Taiwan to the world. Hsu completed the challenge in 12 hours, 17 minutes and eight seconds, after swimming across the Strait of Gibraltar in October last year. She said she had planned to swim the English Channel in August next year, but seized the opportunity when a vacancy became available on the waiting list. She went to the UK in May to train for a test that involves swimming for six hours at 16°C, which people who want to swim