A People First Party (PFP) lawmaker yesterday quoted a Chinese official as saying that relations between Taiwan and China were on an even footing for the time being.
PFP lawmaker and former speaker of the Legislative Yuan Liu Sung-fan (
"The official's remarks indicate that relations across the Taiwan Strait will remain stable, at least for now," Liu said.
But Liu, who has been leading a group of lawmakers from the opposition party on a visit to China, said Chen didn't say specifically how long the current calm in cross-strait relations would remain.
Liu said many in China are concerned about cross-strait relations after Taiwan made its first democratic transition of power by electing a DPP president.
Liu said he had asked the official whether there would be any change in Beijing's policy toward Taiwan following the mainland leadership's recent policy review meeting in Beidaihe.
"The official just said the two sides of the Taiwan Strait will have a period of quietness, but he didn't elaborate on the meaning of quietness," Liu said.
The PFP group briefed the press yesterday in Shanghai on the results of its mainland visit. Liu said the group had met with senior mainland officials in Beijing to discuss cross-strait problems and difficulties faced by Taiwan investors in China.
"No matter what officials have said about cross-strait relations, my observation is that China wants an early opening for direct cross-strait trade, shipping, mail and transportation links," Liu said.
Moreover, Liu said, China still welcomes Taiwan investments on the mainland. "Although our government adopts a `no haste, be patient' policy to discourage our businessmen from starting new cross-strait investment projects, mainland authorities will continue their efforts to attract Taiwan capital," he said.
After extensive talks with Taiwan businessmen based in China, Liu said most of them hope to see an early resumption of cross-strait dialogue to resolve many practical issues.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
RSS