Beijing yesterday refused to comment on the appointment of a pro-Taiwan former legislator as the head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), but said it looked forward to collaborating with the new administration on establishing direct weekend flights starting in July.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Spokesman Li Weiyi (李維一) told a press conference yesterday that Beijing had no comment on the appointment of former Taiwan Solidarity Union legislator Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) as MAC chairwoman when asked by reporters about Beijing’s reaction to her new position.
“What we really care about is the future development of cross-strait relations,” Li said.
The spokesman also denied that Lai’s appointment was the reason why China reportedly reneged on its offer to allow Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) and Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) to visit Beijing in the near future.
“We welcome the visit of Chairman Wu,” Lee said.
Li went on to say Beijing looks forward to working with the new administration on improving cross-strait relations based on the “1992 Consensus,” calling it a “foundation to resolve practical matters” and solidify peace across the Taiwan Strait.
“We hope to resume negotiations on cross-strait isues based on the framework of the ‘1992 consensus,’” the spokesman repeated on a number of occasions.
The “1992 consensus” was a term coined by former MAC head Su Chi (蘇起) to describe the “consensus” between Taiwan and China during a meeting in Hong Kong in 1992 that both sides would adhere to the “one-China” principle with different interpretations.
The term, however, has been blasted by the Democratic Progressive Party, which insists no consensus ever existed.
President-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) interpreted Beijing’s remarks as positive and pledged to carry out his cross-strait policies after his inauguration on May 20.
Ma’s spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said Ma’s stance on cross-strait issues was unchanged, and he would carry out his cross-strait policies as soon as possible through negotiations between the SEF and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
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US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to