Newspapers yesterday said President Chen Shui-bian's (
Chen told a gathering of pro-independence activists in Tokyo during a video conference on Saturday that he supported legislation for a referendum law that would be necessary should the people of Taiwan need to decide whether to declare independence from China, a move certain to anger Beijing.
Chen also said Taiwan and China were each "one country on each side" of the Taiwan Strait, echoing the views of former president Lee Teng-hui (
The pro-unification China Post criticized Chen's remarks as "unfortunate."
"While Beijing is certain to offer an angry knee-jerk reaction, we believe that Chen will also be inundated with negative fallout from our friends in Washington," the English-language newspaper said in an editorial.
The mass circulation United Daily News said Chen's remarks marked "the end of the `new middle of the road path'" -- a political slogan he coined for a compromised China policy under pressure from various factions of his party.
It said Chen had formally ushered out the moderate policy.
"From today on, all the 23 million people here have to count down to the referendum," it said.
When Chen took office in May 2000, he promised not to declare statehood or push for an independence referendum in what was seen then as a gesture to Beijing in what has been billed the "new middle of the road path."
But the Taiwan Daily, which has close ties to the government, defended Chen's "one country on each side" declaration, saying this is a political reality.
"This is the road that the Taiwan people must take," the Chinese-language newspaper said.
Chen did not give a timetable for passing the referendum law. Analysts said Chen had apparently decided to take a harder line in a bid to move Beijing to the negotiating table after a three-year-old impasse in cross-strait ties.
Pro-unification supporters were stunned when Chen made his statements in the teleconference.
"Taiwan's future and destiny can only be decided by the 23 million people living on the island ... But how to make the decision when the time comes? The answer is what [we] have sought after -- referendum," he said.
Opposition politicans held the statements in contrast to his earlier pledge that he would not push for a plebiscite on whether Taiwan should declare independence or join China during his tenure, which is due to end in 2004.
In its editorial, the Chinese-language China Times said Chen's remarks had caused a "very serious" issue because "despite his status as head of state, any guarantees and any promises he made could be doubted from now on."
The paper also questioned Chen's defenders who said he was just trying to "describe the status quo" between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
"If the status quo could be described in such an easy and clear-cut way, then why are there `cross-strait problems' and `cross-strait disputes'?"
The paper added: "It seemed that as assumed by those pro-referendum activists, Taiwan could hereafter live a happy life after a referendum, and all the complicated factors regarding history, international community [responses] and jurisdiction could be totally ignored ... But is that true?"
It warned that further soured relations with Beijing could create an environment unfavorable to Taiwan's economy when the two sides are moving closer toward each other economically.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as