If China insists on passing its proposed anti-secession bill, the result would be akin to "casting a shadow and causing torrential rains" to fall on recent progress in cross-strait cooperation, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) told Newsweek magazine in an interview published this week.
"Groups in Taiwan have started talking about enacting counter legislation like an anti-annexation law. Is this the result Beijing authorities want to achieve?" Chen said when asked about the impact of Beijing's legislation.
"We might not be able to change Beijing's decision, but we still want to express deep concern," Chen was quoted as saying.
Asked to envision a future in which Taiwan and China were unified, Chen said that it would be possible only if China's political and economic circumstances changed.
"If one day the people of Taiwan choose to unify with China, it must be done [after] their political situations [achieve] complete synergy, in which both sides enjoy democratic elections, multiparty politics, a truly neutral military [and] freedom of speech. Moreover, by then the average income in China should be about that of the people in Taiwan," Chen told Newsweek.
Chen indicated that an interim agreement, previously proposed by former US National Security Council senior director for Asian affairs Kenneth Lieberthal, who served under former US president Bill Clinton, was "worthy of our consideration."
"Any sort of peace agreement -- long term, short term, midterm -- we're willing to discuss and talk about," Chen said.
Lieberthal's proposal would maintain the cross-strait status quo for 20 to 30 years.
"Thirty years is just a proposed time frame. If by then China has not achieved a mature democracy, we could delay it to 50 or 100 years. Why not?" Chen said.
Chen also answered questions regarding his recent meeting with People First Party Chairman James Soong (
Chen said that the pledges he issued in the joint agreement he signed with Soong were a reiteration of his promises.
"The other side of the strait has kept trying to twist my words and mislead the international community. They claim I have a timetable for independence and that I intend to change the national moniker. So I took the opportunity yesterday to reiterate my promises," he said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation