Taiwan will not avoid cross-strait political issues, but the time is not right for political talks with China, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday amid concerns about possible moves by his administration toward political negotiations with Beijing.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Ma said the government did not intend to pass the political issues on generation to generation when asked to comment on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) call for Taiwan to prepare for political negotiations.
He said for the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to engage in political talks and discuss the signing of a peace accord, his administration would seek a clear public consensus on the issue, while reiterating his principle in handling cross-strait issues, which is to address the easier and pressing issues first, before tackling difficult ones, such as politics.
Photo: CNA
“We are willing to discuss any issue as long as it is an urgent one,” he said.
He also dismissed a direct meeting with Xi during his term, insisting that such a meeting could only take place with the support of the Taiwanese public.
While insisting on an “economics first, politics later” policy for dealing with China, Ma said the government would not avoid addressing political issues.
Citing the signing of cross-strait agreements and the proposed establishment of cross-strait representative offices, Ma said these issues carried some political significance, and the government is also promoting the service trade agreement to enhance cross-strait exchanges and enable Taiwanese to profit from them.
He dismissed concerns about the nation’s sovereignty under fast-paced cross-strait development, and attributed the nation’s economic pacts with Japan and other major trade partners to improved cross-strait relations.
“They say we are selling out Taiwan and that we lost something, but they never say what exactly we have lost,” he said.
Ma also defended Taiwan’s relations with the US during his term, and said it was vital that Washington continued to sell arms to Taiwan.
He shrugged off his record-low approval rating, and said he has no desire to change cross-strait and domestic policies, insisting that the nation has made progress in every area, he said.
“Not everyone understands this. But we have done what needed to be done, and we will keep doing so until the very end,” he said.
When asked about the political rift between him and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Ma — who doubles as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman — said the KMT has remained united despite the incident, adding that the case regarding Wang’s alleged improper lobbying will be resolved in court.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
RSS