The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday urged Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) to clarify the KMT’s stance on cross-strait relations, as KMT presidential hopeful Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) has criticized President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) cross-strait policy and appears to be heading in a pro-unification direction.
“Hung seems to be taking a very different view on cross-strait policies from those of Ma and Chu, and actually Taiwanese are still struggling to understand how she actually thinks,” DPP spokesperson Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) told a news conference at the party’s headquarters in Taipei. “[Cross-strait policy] is a very serious issue and therefore Hung and the KMT are obliged to explain it clearly to the public.”
The deputy legislative speaker has criticized Ma’s “one China with different interpretations” and “no unification, no independence, no use of force” as his main principles in cross-strait relations, saying that such ideas would eventually lead to Taiwanese independence, so she said that the two sides should agree to “one China, same interpretation.”
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
“Hung did not explain what ‘same interpretation’ means, or clearly what she meant by ‘one China,’” Wang said.
He said that while Hung last month said that Taiwan and China are two Chinese governments under “one China,” on Monday she said in an interview that her idea of “one China” is asking the People’s Republic of China to recognize the existence of the Republic of China.
“As a presidential hopeful, Hung should make herself clear about the issue to the people,” Wang said.
As next month’s KMT national congress is set to pass a new political agenda, Wang questioned whether Ma’s “one China with different interpretations,” Chu’s “both sides belong to ‘one China’” or Hung’s proposal of signing a cross-strait peace agreement under “one China, same interpretation” would be written into it.
“Is the KMT going to be switching to the direction of pushing for accelerating cross-strait unification? This is a question that Chu should answer,” Wang said.
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
MEET AND GREET: The White House, which called the interaction ‘just a handshake,’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Biden planned to visit Taiwan’s envoy to the APEC summit, Lin Hsin-i (林信義), on Friday invited US President Joe Biden to visit Taiwan. During the APEC Leaders’ Informal Dialogue, Lin, who represented President William Lai (賴清德) at the summit, spoke with Biden and expressed gratitude to the outgoing US president for his contribution to improving bilateral ties between Taipei and Washington over the past four years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Lin and Biden exchanged views during the conversation, with Lin extending an invitation to Biden to visit Taiwan, it said. Biden is to step down in January next year, when US president-elect Donald Trump is
RSS