The Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) has issued a strongly worded condemnation of the recent proposal that relations between Taiwan and China could be dealt with under a “one country, two areas (一國兩區)” formula.
According to a statement issued in Washington on Tuesday, the proposal — supported by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) — puts Taiwan on a “slippery slope” and severely undermines Taiwan’s sovereignty and the freedom to choose its own future.
“We, together with our friends and relatives in Taiwan, have worked hard for a free and democratic Taiwan, and do not want to see those achievements swept away by an authoritarian China,” the statement said. “If the Ma government now agrees that Taiwan is an area under one country then it is implicitly saying that Taiwan is part of the PRC [People’s Republic of China].”
Signed by FAPA president Mark Kao (高龍榮), the statement concludes: “The future of Taiwan should be determined by the Taiwanese people themselves through democratic mechanisms and not negotiated away in shady backroom deals.”
FAPA said former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) suggested in a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) last month that the “one country, two areas” formula be used.
It was later confirmed that the proposal had been authorized by Ma, FAPA said.
“We firmly believe that Taiwan is a free and democratic country unto itself — an independent and autonomous nation with its own democratically elected government,” Kao said. “Wu’s actions in Beijing dangerously undermine Taiwan’s already-shrinking international space.”
The statement said that the Ma administration’s argument that “one country, two areas” is consistent with the Republic of China Constitution “is simply outlandish.”
The Ma administration’s “new formulation” was also inconsistent with the views held by the “vast majority” of Taiwanese, it said.
A recent TVBS poll showed that only 19 percent of Taiwanese agree with the “one country, two areas” formula.
That formula — applied to Hong Kong — is a “complete non-starter when it comes to Taiwan,” Kao said.
“As citizens who deeply value democracy, we believe that the way the idea was raised was a basic violation of democratic principles,” he said.
“It occurred in a party-to-party forum between CCP-KMT [Chinese Communist Party-Chinese Nationalist Party], two parties that are known for their disregard of democracy,” he said.
“Such a mechanism lacks any transparency, accountability or legislative oversight, and is thus contrary to the basic values for which we stand,” Kao said.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
RSS