President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday countered public concern over his cross-strait policy, saying improved cross-strait relations had strengthened the nation's sovereignty and enhanced its international profile.
Ma said those who are worried that better cross-strait ties would compromise “the sovereignty of the Republic of China” and “dignity of Taiwan” simply worried too much.
“When we improve cross-strait relations, we also restore mutual trust with Washington,” he said. “The nation's sovereignty was not weakened but rather strengthened. I am very confident about that, and I believe you think the same.”
Ma made the remarks while addressing a Lunar New Year gathering of China-based Taiwanese businesspeople in Tainan City.
Ma dismissed allegations that Washington and Tokyo were uneasy about the country's closer ties with Beijing, saying that his new cross-strait approach has been “universally welcomed.”
As the most recent dialogue between Washington and Beijing did not mention Taiwan, Ma said some might find it unusual, but in fact, “no news is good news.”
“It means it is normal and it is peaceful. It is the goal that we are striving for,” he said. “It is common sense that constant squabbling over Taiwan is bad for foreign investment in Taiwan.”
Touting Taiwan's geographical advantage, Ma said deregulation and liberalization would help build the country into a global innovation center and an Asian-Pacific business hub.
The country has wasted too much time on political disputes over the years, he said, adding that since he took office in May, he has gradually removed the obstructions and pushed for an economic restructuring.
Unfortunately, the global economic downturn has dealt a blow to the local economy, he said.
While cross-strait deregulation measures were not as effective as the administration had expected, Ma said they offered local businesses more alternatives and leverage.
“We never said China is our only hope,” Ma said. “The Chinese market is just a part of it.”
Saying the direction of his cross-strait policy was correct, Ma promised to stay the course and urged the opposition parties to support government policies that serve national and public interests.
Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) told reporters at the same setting that he expected to see both sides reach a consensus on at least four issues during the third cross-strait high-level talks, scheduled to be held in the first half of the year. They are financial cooperation, two-way investment, joint efforts to combat crime and regular aviation flights.
Chiang said the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) had authorized the foundation to negotiate with its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, on the four issues.
The comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA), however, is not on the agenda of the forthcoming talks because it is a complicated matter.
MAC Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) said that both sides would begin the negotiation process as soon as they are ready. The administration will conduct the negotiations in a stable and practical manner, she said, and hopefully agreements will be signed.
As it is government policy to further normalize cross-strait trade, Lai said, the administration would examine and relax cross-strait regulations, hoping to build Taiwan into a management base and regional business hub.
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
Taiwan plans to cull as many as 120,000 invasive green iguanas this year to curb the species’ impact on local farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture said. Chiu Kuo-hao (邱國皓), a section chief in the ministry’s Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, on Sunday said that green iguanas have been recorded across southern Taiwan and as far north as Taichung. Although there is no reliable data on the species’ total population in the country, it has been estimated to be about 200,000, he said. Chiu said about 70,000 iguanas were culled last year, including about 45,000 in Pingtung County, 12,000 in Tainan, 9,900 in
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
ALLEGED SABOTAGE: The damage inflicted by the vessel did not affect connection, as data were immediately rerouted to other cables, Chunghwa Telecom said Taiwan suspects that a Chinese-owned cargo vessel damaged an undersea cable near its northeastern coast on Friday, in an alleged act of sabotage that highlights the vulnerabilities of Taipei’s offshore communications infrastructure. The ship is owned by a Hong Kong-registered company whose director is Chinese, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. An unidentified Taiwanese official cited in the report described the case as sabotage. The incident followed another Chinese vessel’s suspected involvement in the breakages of data cables in the Baltic Sea in November last year. While fishing trawlers are known to sometimes damage such equipment, nation states have also
RSS