Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday rejected Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) proposal to shelve Taiwan's sovereignty disputes with China in order to reopen cross-strait dialogue.
In a press conference hosted by the council for hundreds of foreign journalists here to observe the election, Tsai said he disapproved of the opposition presidential candidate's statement regarding Taiwan's sovereignty.
"There should not be disputes about our sovereignty," Tsai said. "When we are talking about sovereignty today, we are talking about the rights of the people here to exercise their rights and will collectively, to make decisions for themselves and to make courses for their futures.
"This is sovereignty -- you cannot set it aside. It is inherent," she said.
The establishment of cross-strait relationships should be like building ties between "two different sovereignties," she said, adding the concept had been presented in the government's proposal to build a "peace and stability framework" with China.
As the government has over the years been calling for more flexibility from Beijing, which insists on Taiwan's acceptance of the "one China" principle as the condition for talks, Tsai was asked what flexibility Taiwan was willing to show to reopen dialogue.
Tsai said the government had to think about to what extent the "one China" principle would undermine Taiwan's sovereignty.
If there is a formulation that China could come up with that assures Taiwan's sovereignty, then it would be possible for Taipei to talk to Beijing about the meaning of the "one China" principle, she said.
"But if they ask us to accept the `one China' principle before talking to us about the definition of the principle, it [the requirement] is just against the kind of logic we have here," Tsai said.
Tsai said that the government was not pushing an independence agenda.
"The government is aware of the general public's desire to maintain the status quo. What the government here is doing is to strengthen our sovereignty," she said.
Tsai said it was the government's responsibility to consolidate the country's sovereignty.
Commenting on Beijing's changed tone from former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji's (朱鎔基) verbal intimidation four years ago ahead of Taiwan's presidential election, Tsai said China had become more "skillful" in handling the relationship with Taiwan.
Beijing attempted to drum up international pressure on Taiwan's referendum by sending envoys and messengers to other countries asking for their comments on the vote, while the general feeling here is that "Taiwan seems to be moving away from them [China]," Tsai said.
Acknowledging that the cross-strait situation was "extremely complicated and extremely difficult to manage," Tsai said the government had been very realistic and that it had been assessing military conflicts with China.
Asked for her opinion on the KMT's proposal for an "air corridor" across the Taiwan Strait, Tsai called it "a Cold War idea" and "outdated."
The air corridor plan did not reflect reality because it involved two completely isolated countries that are hostile to each other, she said.
Considering the frequent daily flights between China and Taiwan via Hong Kong and Macau, Tsai said there was no need to create the air corridor.
‘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