The APEC leaders’ summit in Beijing this year would be the most suitable occasion for a meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) because it would allow China to interpret the gathering as a “domestic affair,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister Lin Chu-chia (林祖嘉) said.
Lin made the comment at a meeting of foreign envoys at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in response to a question EU Representative to Taiwan Frederic Laplanche raised about a possible Ma-Xi get-together. The meeting was to brief the envoys on the agreements on meteorological cooperation and earthquake monitoring signed during the 10th high-level cross-strait talks on Feb. 27 in Taipei.
Several envoys inquired about the possibility of a Ma-Xi meeting, a topic discussed when MAC Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) met with China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) on Feb. 11 in Nanjing, China.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
“As the next APEC summit is to be held in Beijing, it would help create a context where both sides of the Taiwan Strait could have their own interpretation of the nature of the meeting,” Lin said.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was quick to criticize his comments.
DPP spokesman Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) questioned Ma’s eagerness to meet with Xi, saying that Ma should prioritize the nation’s economy above everything else, including his place in history.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) called on Lin to step down.
“Which country does Lin work for? Is the Ma administration really so desperate to meet with Xi … that it is willing to hand over Taiwan’s sovereignty?” Chen said.
The council later said that a Ma-Xi meeting would not be an international or domestic affair, but a “cross-strait one.”
“The government remains adamant that such a meeting must not undermine the nation’s dignity and stances on sovereignty issues, and could only be held in a way that is conducive to the advancement of social well-being and cross-strait rapprochement,” the council said.
Zhang dismissed Lin’s suggestion when questioned by reporters on the sidelines of the 12th National People’s Congress in Beijing.
“We should find another place [for a meeting], since it only concerns the two sides of the Strait, and during which only cross-strait matters will be discussed. It is not necessary to meet at an international occasion,” 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
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
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.
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