Former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), who served as President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) envoy to the APEC summit in Yokohama, Japan, over the weekend, yesterday dismissed criticism that Taiwan would be denigrating itself if it “communicated” with China on its wish to participate in international events or organizations.
However, one of the nation’s top officials on non-governmental organization (NGO) affairs did not agree.
Lien said some people mistook or misconstrued what Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) called “communications” between Taipei and Beijing as just a one-way street, while in effect they were bilateral.
“There was no such thing as self-deprecation, because the communications were conducted under the principles of dignity, reciprocity and equality,” Lien said.
“The two sides discuss issues based on facts rather than emotion, so we can avoid wasting our energy on internal friction or upsetting each other,” he said.
Lien made the remarks during a press conference at the Presidential Office after briefing Ma on his APEC trip, which he described as “successful.”
Lien said Taiwan’s desire to participate in international organizations and activities would require that Taipei and Beijing communicate and negotiate.
The situation has improved over the past two years, Lien said, citing the examples of the country’s participation — as an observer — at the World Health Assembly, as well as in the Government Procurement Agreement and APEC.
Lien said he mentioned the matter to Hu during their meeting on Saturday, and Hu replied the two sides should negotiate to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Ma told Lien yesterday that many Taiwanese and civic groups were concerned about international participation and that his administration would make an effort to address the problem.
Not everybody agrees with Lien’s assessment.
Wu Rong-chuan (吳榮泉), vice chairman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ NGO Affairs Committee, denied that Taipei would negotiate with Beijing about Taiwan’s participation in international NGOs and activities.
“The Republic of China is a sovereign country. Negotiation on this subject is out of the question,” he said.
On the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Ma said it was the administration’s policy to join the pan-regional free-trade agreement. As interested economies planned to meet in New Zealand next month to discuss the issue, Lien urged the administration to pay close attention to those developments.
Lien said he told world leaders during the TPP negotiations, including US President Barack Obama, that he hoped to see “open regionalism” and for Taiwan to have “broadly based participation.”
Four countries have signed up for the TPP — Brunei, Chile, Singapore and New Zealand — but five others are in talks to join the group: the US, Australia, Malaysia, Peru and Vietnam. The pact would require members to drop tariffs and other trade barriers.
On the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) that Taipei and Beijing signed in June, Lien said his “impression” was that Beijing also wanted to expedite negotiations on subsequent agreements.
The pact stipulates that the two sides should begin negotiating four more agreements after the ECFA comes into force, covering traded goods, trade in services, investment protection and economic cooperation.
Meanwhile, since the Chinese Communist Party will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Wuchang Revolution next year, Lien said that revolution “bore historic significance for the Chinese nation” because the Qing Dynasty was overthrown and the Republic of China (ROC) established, moving one more step toward Sun Yat-sen’s (孫中山) ideal of invigorating the “Chinese nation.”
Lien said although Taipei and Beijing could not hold joint celebrations to commemorate the Wuchang Revolution, the ROC would “reach the same goal by different means,” since the government will mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the ROC next year through a series of activities and events.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN AND STAFF WRITER
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of