The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) will normalize Taiwan's exchanges with China if the party regains power in 2008, KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma made the remarks during a live online broadcast of the British Broadcasting Corp's Chinese-language service, while fielding questions from Web users around the world.
He said that at present, the conditions do not exist for Taiwan's unification with China because of the vast differences between the two sides of the Strait.
The two sides need to set up the necessary mechanisms, normalize their exchanges, increase mutual understanding, wait for all conditions to mature and then leave it to the people on both sides to determine whether they want unification, Ma said.
He stressed that the matter should not be left simply to the leaders of Taiwan and China to decide.
The KMT chairman said his party would not rule out the possibility of discussing the unification issue with Beijing, but will not be committed to any timetable for unification with China.
There is still much room for China's improvement and development in order to narrow its gap with Taiwan.
For example, China must first become a democratic society with equitable wealth distribution for its people, and its government must respect basic civic rights, he said.
Asked about President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) recent proposal to scrap the National Unification Council and unification guidelines, Ma said Chen was probably trying to test the waters in order to see the world's reaction.
Ma said that the president could also be trying to use the unification council issue to divert the public's attention from a series of problems in his administration, including the involvement of senior government officials in corruption scandals.
Responding to Ma's remarks that the "the people on both sides" should determine whether they want unification, executive director of the Institute for National Policy Research Lo Chih-cheng (
Lo said that according to the institute's latest survey, 80 percent of respondents feel Taiwan's future should be determined solely by its 23 million people.
‘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
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS