Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday that, if elected, he would lay the foundations for the nation's peace and prosperity for the next 100 years through his "three noes" policy -- no pursuit of unification, no Taiwanese independence and no use of force.
"By `no unification,' I mean during my term or terms of office I will not engage in any talks on unification between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan," Ma said in English during a keynote speech at a conference in Taipei organized by the New Taiwanese Foundation and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
"I will not pursue policies of de jure independence of Taiwan ... I will not use force and [I will] object to the use of force by either side of the Taiwan Strait to unilaterally change the status quo," he said.
Ma said these policies would help in "maintaining and consolidating the status quo of the Republic of China in Taiwan."
Ma said the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) attempts to achieve de jure independence had achieved nothing and damaged the mutual trust between Taiwan and its closest ally, the US.
Ma said he was confident that his "three noes" policy would be acceptable to Beijing and the international community and favorable to the people of Taiwan. He said China had shifted its policy on Taiwan from promotion of unification to prevention of Taiwanese independence.
During a question-and-answer session, Ma said if China continued to suppress Taiwan's attempts to participate in the international community it would only force Taiwanese to fight back.
Continued oppression could result in "something the People's Republic of China doesn't want to see," he said while urging the DPP government to take a "flexible" diplomatic approach and find common ground with Beijing.
Ma said his policies were not a zero-sum game that would threaten the "status quo," but a "workable model."
Ma also vowed to "uplift" and "upgrade" the nation's democracy.
He said it was "alarming" that research indicated Taiwanese people were less confident than other nationals in their democracy.
"We need to understand that democracy is not only about elections, but about fair play [in elections]. It is not about competing for power, but about compromise and cooperation," he said.
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,”
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.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
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