The mass-circulation Japanese daily Mainichi Shimbun urged China yesterday not to use Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) visit as a "political tool to divide Taiwan."
Instead, Beijing should use the historic meeting between Lien and President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), the general-secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), as a "strategic tool to enter into peaceful dialogue with Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party [DPP]," the daily said in an editorial.
If the KMT-CCP summit can develop into cross-strait dialogue -- that is, the resumption of bilateral talks that have been suspended since the DDP came to power, then this will create a "win-win" situation not only for both sides of the strait, but also for the US and Japan, the daily said.
The editorial said that Taiwan by no means has the capability to attack China and that it is China's "Anti-Secession" Law, which authorizes Beijing to use non-peaceful means to settle disputes with Taiwan, that has created tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
It is undeniable that China's "non-peaceful law" has invited world-wide condemnation, and so the best way to settle cross-strait disputes is for China to resume talks with Taiwan's ruling party, the editorial said.
Besides Lien, People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) is also due to visit China. Indeed, there is public support for the opposition parties' visits, but for Beijing, the most significant visit would be one by the DDP, the paper said.
The editorial said China and Taiwan should shake off the "old pattern" of KMT-CCP dialogue and adopt a "new pattern" of formal dialogue between the two states.
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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