Premier Su Tseng-chang (
"The era of party-to-party talks has already passed and only the elected government can represent the Taiwanese people," Su said at the legislature yesterday while delivering a special report on issues concerning the National Unification Council and unification guidelines.
The premier was responding to a question from Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Lo Chih-ming (羅志明) on recent comments by Chinese official Jia Qinglin (賈慶林).
Jia, who is chairman of China's People's Political Consultative Conference, on Sunday said that Beijing should seek to make contact with "hardliners in Taiwan's pan-green camp."
Su said Jia's remarks showed he has no understanding of Taiwan.
"Taiwan is a democratic country, and while there are many political parties, the elected government is the only one that can represent all of the people," Su said.
Su said that Jia lacked this understanding because China's government was led by the Chinese Communist Party, which was quite different from Taiwan's democratic government.
Su said he wasn't opposed to Jia's call for increasing contact with the pan-green camp.
"We welcome contact as long as Beijing respects Taiwan's sovereignty and the contact takes place on an equal footing," Su said.
Su said that contact should not be used to downgrade the nation's status or promote China's divide and conquer strategies.
Mainland Affair Council Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) urged Beijing to give up the conditions it has set for interactions with Taiwan.
"[Taiwan] hasn't ruled out talking with China on any issue. It is China -- having set the `one China' principle as a precondition -- that is hampering cross-strait negotiations," Wu said.
"If China is sincere about having contact with Taiwan, it should invite me or other government officials to visit China," Wu said.
Meanwhile, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
"No matter what China says, what's important for Taiwanese people is to defend the integrity of the nation's sovereignty," he said.
Wang added that talks are needed on many cross-strait issues, including cross-strait direct transportation, the opening of Taiwan to Chinese tourists and the protection of Taiwanese businesspeople investing in China.
"Having talks on these issues would be helpful in advancing cross-strait peace," he said.
also see story:
Yu says that DPP is willing to talk to 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
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
RSS