Since President Chen Shui-bian's (
Tsai Ing-wen (
In the past two weeks, tycoons -- most notably Formosa Plastics Chairman Wang Yung-ching (
On May 21, Chen Yunlin (
The following day, as Tsai was reporting on the MAC's current cross-strait policy to the Legislative Yuan's Home and Nations Committee, KMT lawmaker and former foreign minister John Chang (
Also in the legislature that day, DPP Legislator Chang Chin-fang (
He later told the Taipei Times that the reason for such optimism was that people believe that China "favors private bodies" for holding negotiations.
That may be the government's reasoning too. A senior MAC official, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Taipei Times, that "the government is eager to make a breakthrough in cross-strait relations." He said that, since China had made it perfectly clear that it would not talk to the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF,
Chang stressed that, while this situation may appear embarrassing for the SEF -- which is, after all, the sole private body authorized to represent Taiwan in negotiations with China -- "the lion's share of responsibility for its failure [to make progress over the past few years] rests with China."
China and Taiwan have not engaged in dialogue since the last Koo-Wang talks (
Re-emphasizing his own pessimism that captains of industry might succeed where the SEF has failed, Chang said, "It is an unrealistic expectation."
During the Koo-Wang talks of 1993 and 1998, the SEF and ARATS reached agreements on mutual recognition of notarized documents, procedures for the return of illegal immigrants, and postal inspection. Each agreement stipulates the basic rights of the people of the two sides.
"The Chinese authorities, however, do not always abide by their agreements," Chang noted.
According to SEF Secretary-General Shi Hwei-yow (
"If the Chinese authorities can unilaterally refuse to abide by agreements that they have signed with the SEF, they may very well do so with any other private body," said SEF Deputy Secretary-General Jan Jyh-horng (
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
TRAVEL CONVENIENCE: The program is to shorten wait times while passing through airport checks and would start for Taiwanese from January next year Japan is to launch a new program to expedite entry procedures for Taiwanese starting from January next year. The Japanese government is planning to introduce new rules to shorten the time it takes foreign travelers to pass through immigration, thereby attracting more tourists to visit, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported yesterday. An airport preclearance program would be implemented to allow foreign travelers to finish some screenings at their departure airport’s terminals and undergo simple confirmation procedures upon arrival, it said. The program would initially be applied to travelers from Taiwan from January next year and could be extended to travelers from elsewhere depending
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
The US military is confident that it would win a war against China if a conflict broke out in the Taiwan Strait, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Charles Q. Brown said at a forum on Saturday. During an interview at the Aspen Security Forum in Aspen, Colorado, on Saturday, CNN reporter Jennifer Griffin asked Brown about the possible outcome of a US-China war in the Taiwan Strait. “Can the US win a war against China if Beijing tries to take Taiwan, from your military perspective?” Griffin asked. “I’m fully confident in our forces. You should be too. We