By inviting leaders of Taiwan's political parties to visit China, Beijing is trying to allay international criticism of its "Anti-Secession" Law, analysts said yesterday.
As Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General Lin Feng-cheng (
Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), head of Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office, announced yesterday that Hu "invited PFP Chairman James Soong to lead a party delegation to visit China."
Lien "will give China a nice gift" by visiting Beijing, which is eager to shift the international community's focus from its much decried Anti-Secession Law to its political exchanges with Taiwan, said Chi Nan University public policy professor Byron Weng (
The KMT desires to boost its profile with Lien's China trip and hopes to cement a close relationship with the Chinese authorities that President Chen Shui-bian (
"I don't think the KMT will go as far as betraying Taiwan," Weng added. "It arranged the Beijing visit for its own benefit. In a way, the KMT and Beijing use each other for their political gain."
Weng was skeptical about whether Chen Shui-bian would authorize Soong to talk to Hu on his behalf, even though the two signed a 10-point consensus on several issues, including cross-strait relations, in February.
"It is very difficult for them to establish a relationship based on mutual trust," Weng said.
Inviting Taiwan's opposition leaders to visit China is one of Beijing's strategies for unifying with Taiwan, said Chang Wu-ueh (張五岳), a professor at Tamkang University's Institute of China Studies.
Chang said that the government here should think about how to turn the trips into opportunities to seek peace with China.
Chen Shui-bian is unlikely to authorize Soong to speak for him in China, Chang said, because the law does not allow the government to grant political parties the right to conduct negotiations with Beijing.
Beijing knows its talks with Lien and Soong will not have much impact on Taiwan's cross-strait policies unless the opposition leaders find ways to cooperate with the Taiwanese government, Chang said.
China, which reacted positively to Chen Shui-bian's 10-point consensus with Soong, hopes the Taiwanese government will be willing to carry out any agreements it reaches with the PFP, Chang said.
"The government should try to develop cross-strait relations by furthering cooperation with the opposition parties ... Taiwan should have a positive attitude toward Hu's meetings with Lien and Soong," he suggested.
But Alexander Huang
"Beijing has poked its finger into Taiwan's domestic politics," he said.
China woos not only Taiwan's opposition leaders but also its farmers and businessmen, he said.
"These moves affect Taiwan a lot," said Huang, a former vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
IDENTITY SHIFT: Asked to choose to identify as either Taiwanese or Chinese, 83.3 percent of respondents chose Taiwanese, while 8.4 percent chose Chinese An overwhelming majority of Taiwanese, 71.5 percent, think that Taiwan should compete in international competitions under the name “Taiwan,” a Taiwan Brain Trust survey published yesterday showed. Referring to Taiwan’s victory last month at the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12, the survey results showed that 89.1 percent of respondents said that Taiwan’s exceptional performance in sporting competitions furthers national unity. Only 18.8 percent of respondents supported Taiwanese teams’ continued use of the name “Chinese Taipei” in international sporting competitions, the survey showed. Among Taiwan’s leading political parties, the name “Team Taiwan” was supported by 91.1 percent of self-identified Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters,
RSS