President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday rejected the idea of signing a Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) with China, saying it would be "unacceptable" to sign such an agreement as it would downgrade the nation's status to that of Hong Kong and Macau.
"If China signs a CEPA with Taiwan, it would undoubtedly demean Taiwan and turn it into a special administrative region, turn it into a second Hong Kong or a second Macau. This is something we absolutely cannot accept," Chen said.
His comments came the same day as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) met with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) in Beijing. It had been widely reported that Hu was ready to tell Lien that China was willing to sign a CEPA with Taiwan.
PHOTO: AP
At a Beijing news conference yesterday afternoon following a two-hour meeting between Lien and Hu, KMT spokesman Chang Jung-kung (
Although Chang did not elaborate, observers said a common market could mean a CEPA.
The CEPAs China has signed with Hong Kong and Macau allow Beijing to grant privileged treatment to the two Special Administrative Regions (SARs). Under the CEPAs, which took effect on Jan. 1 last year, more than 100 categories of products are allowed to enter China duty-free.
Since both Taiwan and China are WTO members, Chen said they should sign a free-trade agreement (FTA) and use the WTO as a platform to conduct bilateral trade and economic exchanges.
"Under the WTO's framework, if there's anything that should be signed between China and Taiwan, it should be an FTA and not a CEPA," he told a delegation of pro-Taiwan Diet members from Japan's Democratic Party.
"We will be thankful enough if China does not oppose other countries signing FTAs with Taiwan. Let's not play games about `signing a CEPA,'" Chen said.
He said that Taiwan looked forward to signing an FTA with Japan. He also expressed condolences for the deadly train crash last Monday and thanked the Japanese government for its concern over China's "Anti-Secession" Law.
While Chen was occupied meeting foreign visitors yesterday morning and afternoon, senior Presidential Office officials kept a close watch on TV coverage of Lien's meeting with Hu.
A meeting of high-ranking Cabinet and Democratic Progressive Party caucus officials was convened last night by Presidential Office Secretary-General Yu Shyi-kun at the Presidential Office.
At press time last night the Presidential Office had decided not to issue any official comment on Lien's remarks in Beijing.
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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