China’s policy toward Taiwan is to focus in the future on being “closer to the people” as evidenced by the tone of this week’s visit to Taiwan by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍), the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Taiwan Studies director Zhou Zhihuai (周志懷) said.
Zhou was referring to Zhang’s attempts to mingle with ordinary Taiwanese, including people at nursing homes and nursery schools during his visit.
Zhang’s itinerary clearly underscored a desire to inject a “common touch” into cross-strait ties, Zhou said, and he expected Beijing’s Taiwan policy to adopt the theme of “two sides of the Taiwan Strait being one close family.”
A mainstream element of that approach would be moving “closer to the people,” Zhou said at a forum in Beijing on Friday that was held to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the institute, regarded in China as a key think tank on Taiwan.
The academic said the forum was being held “at a special time,” with Zhang’s trip to Taiwan reciprocating an earlier visit to China by Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) in February.
Zhou described the cross-strait trip as “sailing against the current” to achieve new breakthroughs.
Yet as Zhang is trying to portray a more conciliatory image on his trip, he has been shadowed by protesters wherever he has gone, reflecting the unease many Taiwanese and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) feel about closer ties with China.
The DPP has vehemently opposed deals that would bring the two economies closer, such as the service trade pact signed in June last year, which remains stalled in the Legislative Yuan.
Zhou said the DPP, before it could regain power, needed to examine its resistance to the services pact, a bill on overseeing cross-strait pacts and legislation on setting up free economic pilot zones.
Chao Chien-min (趙健民), a former MAC deputy minister, said at the forum that Zhang’s visit showed that China is attaching more importance to appealing directly to public opinion in promoting cross-strait ties.
Yet he acknowledged that there remains a lack of mutual trust on both sides, including controversies over the so-called “1992 consensus” and the “one China” framework.
‘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
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
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