Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said yesterday that the KMT administration and Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) are too optimistic on cross-strait relations.
Cheng’s comments came after Lai made a speech to Taiwanese expatriates in New York on Saturday in which she talked about President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) cross-strait policy of “mutual non-denial” and said the signing of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China would not affect the nation’s sovereignty or touch on independence or unification issues, or any other political prerequisite.
Cheng said that Taiwan does not deny China’s existence, but that Beijing denies Taiwan’s existence and would never change its position. He said the government was able to resume cross-strait talks because it accepts Beijing’s “one-China” principle and does not challenge Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is part of China.
The DPP believes the government’s cross-strait policies are jeopardizing Taiwan’s sovereignty and dignity, he added.
Lai said that the government’s proposed signing of an ECFA with China would not affect Taiwan’s sovereignty. However, Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) has previously said an ECFA could only proceed only under the “one-China” principle and that a cross-strait economic agreement would promote unification, Cheng said.
The DPP urged the government not to avoid these important issues and to stop lying to the public, Cheng added.
During Saturday’s speech, Lai said “Taiwan has no timetable” for starting political talks with China.
She said although cross-strait relations have improved substantially over the past 13 months, that did not mean the two sides have built “mutual trust.”
“Conditions for talks on political issues have not yet matured and we are in no hurry for that to happen,” Lai said.
Lai said officials from both sides have engaged in institutional dialogue via the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) over the past year, which shows that cross-strait relations have evolved from “mutual denial” to “mutual non-denial.”
“It marks a major achievement in cross-strait relations,” she said.
Lai said both sides should adopt a policy of “putting aside their differences” and “mutual non-denial” in order to face the reality across the Taiwan Strait in a pragmatic manner.
On the economy, Lai said exports were Taiwan’s lifeline and the nation has to face up to globalization and the formation of new regional economic blocs. She said Taiwan cannot afford to ignore China’s rise.
Lai said an ECFA is neither an indenture by which Taiwan will sell itself to China nor a panacea for Taiwan’s sagging economy.
“The aim of signing an ECFA with China is to pursue normal business activities with China on an equal footing and devise the basic principles for normalizing cross-strait trade relations,” she said.
However, Lai said that talks on signing an ECFA would not be included on the agenda of the next meeting between SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and ARATS Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), scheduled for the end of the year.
“Cross-strait talks on an ECFA are not expected to begin until next year,” she said.
Lai, who arrived in New York on Friday, is scheduled to visit the National Committee on American Foreign Policy and the National Committee on US-China Relations, two New York-based think tanks, for closed-door meetings. She is also scheduled to deliver a speech on the latest developments in cross-strait relations at the Brookings Institute in Washington.
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
The government would cancel kendo practitioner Su Yu-cheng’s (蘇郁程) nationality if he is confirmed to have represented China in the World Kendo Championships in Milan, Italy, last week, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. “We have consulted the Sports Administration and were told that athletes participating in the championships must have the nationality of the country that they represent. They must also present their passports as proof,” council spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a weekly news conference. “If Su indeed represented China in the championships, we suspect that he has obtained Chinese nationality.” The Act Governing Relations Between the People of the
FATAL ILLNESS: Untreated symptoms can rapidly worsen to complications such as high fever, seizures and loss of consciousness, and can be life-threatening, a doctor said Hospitals have been reporting dozens of people with heat-related illnesses every day over the past week, given continuous high daytime temperatures, so recognizing the early signs of heatstroke is crucial in preventing serious complications, a Taipei City Hospital emergency physician said. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a heat alert for 19 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures in New Taipei City, Miaoli County and Pingtung County likely to exceed 38°C, and temperatures in 12 cities and counties likely to exceed 36°C for three days straight. More than a dozen people were taken to hospitals for heat-related illnesses every day from