President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen said the task force's priority for the moment was to draw up guidelines that would further peaceful interaction between Taiwan and China.
"For a number of reasons, the people of Taiwan and the international community have expressed concern over future instability in cross-strait relations," Chen told the meeting held at the Presidential Office.
"I therefore decided before the election to endeavor to build a peace and stability framework," he said.
"Now that the election has run its course, and with the people putting their trust in myself and Vice President [Annette] Lu (呂秀蓮), I must act on my promise," Chen said.
Chen stressed that the task force was just the first step and that, if the task force operated smoothly, a cross-strait peace development committee would be formed.
"We need to create criteria for the development of a peaceful and stable cross-strait relationship, creating a consensus of the government, the opposition alliance and all the people of Taiwan, I hope that this will be the first goal that the task force can accomplish," he said.
Chen announced in January that he would form a nine-member task force to set up the framework if he won the presidential election.
Chen also said that the task force would send a representative to Beijing to facilitate contact with the Chinese government.
High-powered members of the task force include Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Koo Chen-fu (
Task force members made suggestions on improving interaction with Beijing but remained tight-lipped yesterday.
"We gave our points of view to the president," Wu said, "however, it is inappropriate to go into the details of our meeting for the time being."
Chen Po-chih also refused to comment on the content of their discussion.
Other task force members are government officials with responsibilities in cross-strait affairs, such as Presidential Office Secretary General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁), National Security Council Secretary General Kang Ning-hsiang (康寧祥) and Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Vice President Annette Lu also sits on the task force.
‘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
RSS