Despite criticism from some former US officials who urged Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to come up with “something new” in cross-strait relations, the party looks set to stick to its Resolution on Taiwan’s Future.
Although a number of former US officials and academics, including former American Institute in Taiwan managing director Barbara Schrage, have criticized Tsai for what they consider a failure to present new policy proposals on cross-strait relations alongside her presidential bid, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) yesterday quoted an unnamed senior DPP official as saying that the party would stick to its 1999 resolution.
The party has good communication channels with the US government, and has confirmed that Schrage’s statement does not represent the US government’s official stance, the report quoted the DPP official as saying.
It is already an “old trick” of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party to manipulate retired officials or academics in Washington to pressure the DPP through making statements, the source said, adding that the trick might no longer be effective in the wake of the Sunflower movement protests and the DPP’s victories in the nine-in-one local elections last year, according to the report.
The DPP is confident that the resolution reflects a public consensus in Taiwan, and therefore would not give it up, the source reportedly said.
The Resolution on Taiwan’s Future refers to a declaration adopted by the DPP’s national convention in 1999 that says the party recognizes Taiwan as a sovereign nation and that any change to the “status quo” has to be decided by Taiwanese voters via a referendum.
The resolution also affirms the DPP’s stance that Taiwan is not part of the People’s Republic of China and that it is opposed to the ideas of “one China” or “one country, two systems,” as “unilaterally proposed by China,” but would seek to establish friendly relations with China as two separate nations.
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
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
RSS