New Taipei City Mayor and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday expressed hope that Taiwan would develop a greater role in the global community based on the so-called “1992 consensus” between Taiwan and China.
Speaking at the 10th Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Culture Forum in Shanghai, Chu said that he expects Taiwan to play a bigger role if the nation takes part in the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Beijing’s “One Belt, One Road” trade initiative and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade bloc.
Despite its smaller economy, land mass and population, Taiwan has strengths in innovation, management experience and research and development, allowing it to make substantial contributions to regional economic development through cooperation with China, Chu said.
Photo: AP
The “1992 consensus” refers to a supposed understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that both Taiwan and China acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what that means. In 2006, former KMT legislator Su Chi (蘇起) admitted that he made up the term “1992 consensus” in 2000, when he was head of the Mainland Affairs Council, before the KMT handed power to the Democratic Progressive Party.
National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Yu Zhengsheng (俞正聲) said that Chu’s ideas could be discussed further at the annual KMT-CCP forum, as part of efforts to seek Taiwan’s participation in the AIIB, the “One Belt, One Road” initiative and the RCEP, and further possible approaches for cross-strait cooperation.
The discussions are aimed at increasing the competitiveness of “ethnic Chinese” and expanding their presence in the international market, Yu said.
Photo: CNA
Yu also said that the annual forum should stick to China’s stance regarding the “1992 consensus” and opposition to Taiwanese independence, which he described as a “mutual political foundation” for the development of cross-strait relations.
As China enters what has been called a “new normal” with lower economic growth, Beijing plans to help drive rational industrial positioning and introduce new measures for Taiwanese companies in China to address their problems with transformation and upgrading, Yu said.
China will also continue to protect the interests of the Taiwanese public, small and medium-size businesses, farmers and fishermen, allowing them to enjoy the benefits of enhanced cross-strait relations, he said.
Yu also urged the expansion of youth exchanges between Taiwan and China to encourage the wider involvement of young people in efforts to improve related policies.
Chu arrived in Shanghai on Saturday with a 100-member delegation to attend the annual KMT-CCP economic and cultural forum.
The highlight of Chu’s three-day visit is expected to be his first meeting with Chinese President and CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping (習近平). The meeting is to take place in Beijing today.
Chu yesterday avoided giving a direct answer to reporters’ questions about a peace pact between Taiwan and China.
Asked whether he would take advice provided by New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming (郁慕明) and raise the issue of a cross-strait peace accord during a meeting with Xi, Chu said only that there are different opinions in Taiwan regarding the issue.
Some people prefer a more active pursuit of a peace pact and some are against it, but the KMT has its own objective and course of action, he said.
“We will hold our ground on what to do,” Chu said.
CLASH OF WORDS: While China’s foreign minister insisted the US play a constructive role with China, Rubio stressed Washington’s commitment to its allies in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday affirmed and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio statements expressing the US’ “serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan” and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart. The ministry in a news release yesterday also said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated many fallacies about Taiwan in the call. “We solemnly emphasize again that our country and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and it has been an objective fact for a long time, as well as
‘CHARM OFFENSIVE’: Beijing has been sending senior Chinese officials to Okinawa as part of efforts to influence public opinion against the US, the ‘Telegraph’ reported Beijing is believed to be sowing divisions in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture to better facilitate an invasion of Taiwan, British newspaper the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Less than 750km from Taiwan, Okinawa hosts nearly 30,000 US troops who would likely “play a pivotal role should Beijing order the invasion of Taiwan,” it wrote. To prevent US intervention in an invasion, China is carrying out a “silent invasion” of Okinawa by stoking the flames of discontent among locals toward the US presence in the prefecture, it said. Beijing is also allegedly funding separatists in the region, including Chosuke Yara, the head of the Ryukyu Independence
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY: Taiwan must capitalize on the shock waves DeepSeek has sent through US markets to show it is a tech partner of Washington, a researcher said China’s reported breakthrough in artificial intelligence (AI) would prompt the US to seek a stronger alliance with Taiwan and Japan to secure its technological superiority, a Taiwanese researcher said yesterday. The launch of low-cost AI model DeepSeek (深度求索) on Monday sent US tech stocks tumbling, with chipmaker Nvidia Corp losing 16 percent of its value and the NASDAQ falling 612.46 points, or 3.07 percent, to close at 19,341.84 points. On the same day, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Sector index dropped 488.7 points, or 9.15 percent, to close at 4,853.24 points. The launch of the Chinese chatbot proves that a competitor can
‘VERY SHALLOW’: The center of Saturday’s quake in Tainan’s Dongshan District hit at a depth of 7.7km, while yesterday’s in Nansai was at a depth of 8.1km, the CWA said Two magnitude 5.7 earthquakes that struck on Saturday night and yesterday morning were aftershocks triggered by a magnitude 6.4 quake on Tuesday last week, a seismologist said, adding that the epicenters of the aftershocks are moving westward. Saturday and yesterday’s earthquakes occurred as people were preparing for the Lunar New Year holiday this week. As of 10am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) recorded 110 aftershocks from last week’s main earthquake, including six magnitude 5 to 6 quakes and 32 magnitude 4 to 5 tremors. Seventy-one of the earthquakes were smaller than magnitude 4. Thirty-one of the aftershocks were felt nationwide, while 79
RSS