Cross-strait relations are not international relations, former vice president and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰) said yesterday, adding that over the past year, the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have both made it clear that the development of cross-strait relations should progress under the “one China” framework (一中架構).
Lien made the remarks while meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.
The four-day visit by Lien, who arrived on Monday, follows the first government-to-government talks between Taiwan and China in more than six decades.
Xi said last week’s high-profile meeting between the top cross-strait policymakers from Taiwan and China was an “actively significant” development.
Xi said the Feb. 11 meeting between Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) and Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) resulted in agreements on several issues and obtained positive results.
In an apparent nod to the political sensitivities of China-Taiwan encounters, a Xinhua news agency report described Xi by his party title of “general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee,” rather than as the country’s president.
Similarly, Lien was described as “KMT Honorary Chairman” and not as a former vice president of Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Wang was quoted by a KMT lawmaker in Taipei yesterday as saying the time is “not ripe” for an unprecedented cross-strait leaders’ summit at either of the regional forums to be held in China in October this year and in April next year.
Citing Beijing’s position on the issue, Wang ruled out any meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Xi at the Boao Forum on China’s Hainan Island next year, which had been suggested by some Chinese academics and Taiwanese media commentators.
The APEC forum in Beijing in October had also been suggested by Taiwan officials as an appropriate setting for a Ma-Xi meeting.
However, Zhang on Monday said in Beijing that it was better not to talk in international settings about matters related to the two sides.
Meanwhile, People First Party Legislator Thomas Lee (李桐豪) said that during Wang’s briefing of lawmakers yesterday about his first official trip to China last week, Wang sidestepped a question about the goals of the proposed meeting.
On the issue of each side allowing long-term postings of reporters on the other side, Wang said no consensus had been reached.
Taiwan is attaching the condition that China stop blocking Taiwan-based Web sites, but the Chinese side has reservations about that, Wang told Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and other lawmakers during the briefing.
The plan is to first make it easier for reporters to live in the city to which they are posted — usually for six-month periods, Wang was quoted as saying.
Additional reporting by AFP
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS