Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday pledged peaceful ties during a meeting with a delegation of Taiwanese political and business leaders, suggesting that China’s policy toward Taiwan will not shift dramatically when he becomes president.
Peaceful development of cross-strait ties is the duty of the new Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders, Xi told former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰), whose four-day trip to China is seen as offering a look at how Xi will handle relations between China and Taiwan.
“Safeguarding the interests of our Taiwanese compatriots and improving their well-being is the mainland’s oft-repeated pledge and solemn promise of the new leaders of the CCP’s central committee,” Xi said, according to Xinhua news agency.
Photo: CNA
“Of course, we also are soberly aware that historical problems remain in cross-strait relations, and that there will be issues in the future that will require time, patience and joint efforts to resolve,” Xi said.
Xi’s meeting with Lien was his first with a senior political figure from Taiwan since becoming the CCP’s general secretary in November last year. Xi will become China’s president next month.
Lien is set to meet outgoing Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) today. In a statement he said the 18 cross-strait agreements signed in the past four years were a break from the previous tumultuous relations, but added that “core issues” remained unresolved.
He said that experts and non-governmental organizations could tackle difficult political issues.
Taiwan and China can address stumbling blocks in trying to define “one China” and work out a reasonable arrangement, Lien said, adding that a solution can be expected in time.
He described cross-strait relations as moving from “one critical stage to another.”
As examples of issues that involve politics, he cited Taiwan’s participation in international organizations and cross-strait cooperation on fighting crime.
In the first case, he said a concrete result has been achieved without formal negotiations on an issue that is political in nature.
In a press release, Lien’s office said the meeting was based on the principles of “the one-China framework, cross-strait peace, mutual interest and integration, and revitalization of the Zhonghua Minzu [中華民族; Chinese ethnic group].”
Themed with these principles, the press release quoted Lien as tendering to Xi four opinions pertaining to cross-strait developments: that both sides of the Taiwan Strait agree with the “one China” framework, despite differences in their interpretations of the principle; that both sides put an end to cross-strait hostility while gradually ironing out disputes; that both sides seek to facilitate exchanges and mutual prosperity while strengthening their ethnic bond; and that both sides work to promote public welfare while upholding their ethnic dignity.
“Both sides of the Taiwan Strait should first seek common ground, put aside their differences and set aside disputes, before developing a more meaningful and constructive cross-strait relationship in the future,” Lien was quoted as saying in the press release.
Meanwhile, at a time when political differences remain between both sides of the Taiwan Strait, cross-strait [leaders] should separately govern [their territories] and show respect to each others, while seeking to consolidate cooperation and achieve a win-win situation, Lien was quoted as saying.
The press release also quoted Lien as sharing a number of conceptions on cross-strait relations featured in the political report delivered by Hu at the CCP’s 18th Party Congress in November last year.
“These remarks are true to reality and far-sighted, with which I deeply agree,” Lien was quoted as saying, refereeing to Hu’s call for Taiwan and China to “jointly explore cross-strait political relations and make reasonable arrangements for them under the special condition that the country has yet to be reunified.”
“We should commence exploration and forge consensuses based on this notion, striving to build a [cross-strait] political framework that is balanced, equal and feasible,” Lien was quoted as saying. “These efforts would be extremely conducive to achieving peace and sustainable developments across the Taiwan Strait in the future.”
Experiences accumulated during the more than two decades of cross-strait negotiations have highlighted the fact that disputes lead only to conflicts, idleness and self-consumption, the press release said.
It added that only by assisting each other and achieving integration could both sides establish their mutual interests and expedite the pace of [Chinese] ethnic revitalization.
“The development of cross-strait relations is aimed at improving the people’s well-being and is the common career of the entire [Chinese] ethnic group. It is not carried out for the purpose of serving the interest of a specific political party or for temporary interests, which is something people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait would like to see.”
‘TOO TIRED’: The former mayor’s political party said that he had been questioned for nearly 19 hours, so he declined to be questioned at night, as he felt exhausted Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was arrested early yesterday morning after being questioned by prosecutors over his alleged role in a corruption scandal concerning the Core Pacific City redevelopment project during his tenure as Taipei mayor. The arrest was made after Ko refused to be questioned at night and attempted to leave the prosecutors’ office, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Prosecutors were worried that he would collude with others involved in the case to make false statements if they allowed him to leave, so they issued an order to arrest him, the office said. Ko yesterday sought a court
ECONOMIC RESILIENCE: Only 11.4 percent of Taiwan’s overseas investments last year were in China, and businesses are dispersing their investments elsewhere, Lai said China’s ambition to annex Taiwan is based on a desire to change the rules-based international order, rather than a desire for territorial gains, President William Lai (賴清德) said in an interview. During an appearance on the talk show The View With Catherine Chang, aired last night, Lai said China aimed to achieve hegemony, and that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait was an issue of worldwide concern. During the interview, Lai also discussed his “four-pillar plan” for peace and prosperity, which he first outlined in an article published by the Wall Street Journal on July 4 last year. That
‘GLOBAL THREAT’: MOFA said that it welcomes the ‘staunch US support’ and that ‘China again made spurious claims about Taiwan that do not accord with reality’ US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stressed the importance of stability in the Taiwan Strait, while a senior Chinese military official warned the US to stop “collusion” with Taiwan in a rare one-on-one meeting yesterday, both sides said. Sullivan arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, the first US national security adviser to visit China since 2016, for three days of talks with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) and other high-ranking officials. Yesterday morning, Sullivan met with Zhang Youxia (張又俠), vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and China’s second-highest-ranking military official, at the Beijing headquarters of the commission.
GRAFT PROBE: Critics questioned Ko claiming he did not know about the Core Pacific floor area ratio issue until this year, citing a 2021 video in which he was asked about it Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released without bail early yesterday, while his deputy during his tenure as Taipei mayor was detained and held incommunicado after being questioned since Friday over graft allegations related to a shopping center redevelopment project. Prosecutors on Saturday filed a request with the Taipei District Court to officially detain Ko and former Taipei deputy mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲) over allegations surrounding the redevelopment of Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心). The court yesterday determined that the evidence provided by prosecutors was insufficient to justify the detention of Ko and ordered his