Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairperson Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) yesterday called on China to address concerns Taiwanese people have about the Chinese military buildup targeting Taiwan, while emphasizing goodwill to bring more positive results from cross-strait relations.
In a meeting with China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) after signing a cross-strait medical cooperation agreement earlier yesterday, Lai also urged China to acknowledge the issue of Taiwan’s national dignity on the international stage amid recent disputes sparked at cultural and sports events.
“Governments from both sides should face the issues together and work hard to give the people in Taiwan more confidence about cross-strait negotiations ... We expect the mainland to show more goodwill and to take actions to resolve the doubts of Taiwanese people,” she said in a post-meeting news conference held at the Grand Victoria Hotel.
Lai was referring to the -controversial disqualification of Taiwanese taekwondo athlete Yang Shu-chun (楊淑君) in the women’s under-49kg division at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, last month because of allegations, later disproved by video evidence, that she wore extra sensors in her socks.
Another event that stirred public anger and attracted calls for national dignity was Taiwanese actors and actresses’ being blocked from walking the red carpet at the Tokyo Film Festival in October after a Chinese delegation insisted that the Taiwanese group add the word “China” to their country’s name.
Although the sensitive dignity issue was brought up in the closed-door meeting, Lai said her two-hour meeting with Chen and the Chinese delegation was “friendly and candid.”
Both Lai and Chen defended the achievements of the cross-strait negotiations despite a failed attempt to sign a pact on investment protection, and promised to prioritize commodity and service trades and a dispute-resolution mechanism in future negotiation efforts. These issues as well as investment protection are the major issues the two sides have been seeking consensus on since the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) took effect in September.
“It is normal to have different opinions during the negotiation process, and we will address public needs and seek common ground with patience,” Lai said when addressing the meeting.
Chen joined Lai in defending the importance of regular cross-strait talks in promoting cross-strait exchanges. He said signing the ECFA and increasing numbers of Chinese tourists both contributed to the economic boom across the Taiwan Strait amid the global financial crisis.
Chen acknowledged that cross-strait talks have entered a more challenging stage with issues becoming more complicated, and echoed comments from Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) that the schedule of future Chiang-Chen meetings, which are now held every six months, can be flexible.
Yesterday’s meeting proceeded amid protest from pro-Taiwan independence advocates.
Part of the same group that protested Chen’s visit to the -National Palace Museum on Monday — members from the Alliance of Referendum for Taiwan — waved English signs saying, “Stop Ma from selling out Taiwan,” and “No KMT & CCP conspiracy,” referring to the China Communist Party.
Chang Ming-yu (張銘祐), the director of the group, said the heavy police presence was intent on “harming the Taiwanese people while protecting the Chinese.”
Tight security measures, meanwhile, attracted complaints from several guests, who dined at the hotel restaurant at noon, but were asked to leave at about 3pm when the hotel cleared the space for the Lai-Chen meeting.
“The police are damaging our national dignity by protecting Chinese officials. We were having lunch in the hotel, and the police have no right to want us out of the hotel,” a middle-aged woman surnamed Huang (黃) said as she was asked to leave.
Huang, who declined to give her full name, said she had lunch at the hotel with four other friends. About a dozen of police later asked them to leave and escorted them out of the building.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY VINCent Y. Chao
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘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
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS