The new year will be devoted to building consensus, both domestically and across the Taiwan Strait, according to the Mainland Affairs Council, the government body in charge of relations with China.
The council released a press statement yesterday following the president's first speech of the year. President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said he would work hard in 2005 to narrow the divide between the opposing political camps.
"The Committee for Cross-Strait Peace and Development will serve as a venue for progress toward increased bipartisan consensus," Council Vice Chairman and spokesman Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) said.
"It is the president's duty to strike a balance in a multifaceted society, and it is the government's job to promote national unity. In the future, the government will take measures to obtain a consensus on cross-strait issues," the statement read, echoing Chen's call for a "new era of consultation and dialogue" between the pan-blue and pan-green camps.
Chen had previously pledged to invite leaders from all political parties to participate on the Committee for Cross-Strait Peace and Development after the legislative elections. The council said in the statement that Chen had instructed that all appropriate agencies take preparatory measures toward the establishment of the committee. The council also vowed to begin mapping out a plan of action and invite input on how to proceed from various relevant agencies. The council, however, did not elaborate on which agencies it would be talking to. "In my opinion, the committee will be launched sometime in February or March. By then the new appointments in the Cabinet will be clear," Chiu said.
Meanwhile, Chiu called for an increased consensus with China, saying that cross-strait efforts should be made under the framework of peace.
"Right now, both sides want peace ... it is under this consensus that we need to work," Chiu said.
Chiu highlighted Chen's vow to "[keep] a firm stance while moving forward pragmatically," and calling on China to respect the will of the Taiwanese. Chiu was responding to Chinese President Hu Jintao's (
‘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