In response to China’s insistence on recognition of “one China” as a precondition for entry into the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday reiterated the party’s stance on defending Taiwan’s sovereignty.
“This is an issue that crops up whenever we attempt to join any international organization or institution,” Tsai said in response to reporters’ requests for comments on China’s requirements for Taiwan’s participation in the AIIB. “We will find ways to maximize our national interests while defending our position when seeking to enter international organizations.”
Former vice president Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) expressed Taiwan’s interest in joining the proposed AIIB during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) at the opening of the Boao Forum for Asia in China’s Hainan Province on Saturday.
Later, during a news conference, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said that China would welcome Taiwan’s participation in the AIIB, but that Taiwan must recognize the “one China” principle, adding that Taiwan and Hong Kong need to have further talks with China on the details — which many have taken as a hint that Taiwan would receive the same treatment as Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, Tsai yesterday rejected the notion that a visit to the US by DPP Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳昭燮) was related to her own planned visit.
“Wu’s trip to the US was planned a long time ago. It is just a regular visit, since he was our former representative to the US,” Tsai said. “He will be exchanging views with the US on issues of mutual concern.”
As for her own trip to the US, Tsai said the party is still working out the details, including the exact date.
Separately yesterday, speaking at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport before boarding a flight for the US in the afternoon, Wu echoed Tsai in saying that his trip was a routine visit to the US, adding that he would be meeting with Taiwanese expatriate communities to garner their support for the DPP, as well as some friends in the US.
He declined to be specific about who the friends are.
“I will be meeting with friends in the US — whether in US Congress or at think tanks — to exchange ideas on current issues,” Wu said. “However, in the interest of mutual trust, I am not at liberty to discuss who I meet with and what we talk about.”
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