The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday called on Beijing to respect Taiwan’s democracy and people’s freedom of choice, and refrain from seeking to influence Taiwan’s elections, in the wake of recent comments made by high-ranking Chinese officials.
Chinese National Committee of the People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Jia Qinglin (賈慶林) said on Friday that the (so-called) “1992 consensus” was the foundation of cross-strait negotiations.
If that consensus was not recognized, negotiations would come to a halt and agreements already signed could not be implemented, he said, adding that the result would be renewed cross-strait instability that could adversely impact the interests of people in both Taiwan and China.
Jia reiterated that all topics could be discussed under the “one China” principle and the desire of Taiwanese for greater international participation could be “reasonably accommodated” through negotiations.
“The DPP calls on Beijing to listen to the voice of Taiwanese carefully, because it is only by doing so that we can establish a long-term and stable foundation for cross-strait engagement,” DPP spokesperson Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.
Jia described the “1992 consensus” as an understanding reached in 1992 that “both sides could orally interpret its insistence on the one China principle,” Chen said.
Jia’s comments about the consensus differ considerably from those of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who maintains that the consensus allows “one China, different interpretations,” Chen said.
In addition, Taiwanese were far from happy with the “arrangements” Beijing made for Taiwan’s participation in international events in recent years, as they have tended to list Taiwan as a province of China, Chen said.
“These arrangements prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Ma’s ‘flexible diplomacy’ and faith in the so called ‘1992 consensus’ have achieved nothing of substance,” he added.
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