The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday blasted President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) over his remarks in newspaper interviews that he would address political issues in cross-strait talks if he were re-elected in 2012.
“Ma’s cross-strait policy is the country’s ultimate unification with China. He showed his true colors in those newspaper interviews. Political issues addressed by Ma would be a cross-strait peace treaty framework that would lead to the two countries unifying,” DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) told reporters.
The criticism came after Ma said in an interview with two Singapore newspapers — the Straits Times and the Chinese-language Lianhe Zaobao — on Friday that cross-strait talks would address economic issues before moving on to political issues and that the government was focusing all its current efforts on signing an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA).
The two sides of the Taiwan Strait may continue to put off political issues, Ma said, and address them in 2012 if he was re-elected.
DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said: “How dare Ma begin to talk about a timetable for unification? With ideas like this, it’s no wonder China is carrying out polices that favor Ma and that it has begun helping Ma’s 2012 presidential campaign.”
The DPP’s Youth Development director Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said that while Ma said soon after he took office that he would not see cross-strait unification in his lifetime, he appeared to have changed his mind and was in the process of trying to bring about unification.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) shrugged off the criticism, saying the caucus would support any negotiation carried out under the precondition of reciprocity and equality.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) defended the president’s comments, saying that Ma was trying to highlight the government’s focus on economic issues.
“Even if the president were to be engaged in political negotiations with China after winning re-election, he might not necessarily discuss the issue of unification-versus-independence,” Wu said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
Also See: EDITORIAL: Ma’s challenge to the nation
TENSIONS: The Chinese aircraft and vessels were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a joint air and sea military exercise, the Ministry of National Defense said A relatively large number of Chinese military aircraft and vessels were detected in Taiwan’s vicinity yesterday morning, apparently en route to a Chinese military exercise in the western Pacific, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. In a statement, the ministry said 36 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, including J-16 fighters and nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or an extension of it, and were detected in the southern and southeastern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) from 5:20am to 9:30am yesterday. They were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
CASES SLOWING: Although weekly COVID-19 cases are rising, the growth rate has been falling, from 90 percent to 30 percent, 14 percent and 6 percent, the CDC said COVID-19 hospitalizations last week rose 6 percent to 987, while deaths soared 55 percent to 99, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that the recent wave of infections would likely peak this week. People aged 65 or older accounted for 79 percent of the hospitalizations and 90 percent of the deaths, the majority of whom have or had underlying health conditions, CDC data showed. The youngest hospitalized case last week was a six-month-old, who was born preterm and was unvaccinated, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. The infant had a fever, coughing and a runny nose early this month, but