Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) arrived in Washington on Tuesday to reassure the US government there would be “no surprises” from president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
“Going forward, we will do our utmost to find a mutually acceptable mode of interaction between Taiwan and the mainland,” Wu told a briefing session at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington think tank.
He is expected to hold talks this week with US Department of State Assistant Secretary for East Asia Danny Russel, National Security Council Asia Director Daniel Kritenbrink and US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia Abraham Denmark.
Wu is also scheduled to hold talks with members of the US Congress and think tank staffers.
He is likely to be asked about Tsai’s refusal to bow to Chinese demands to accept the so-called “1992 consensus.”
“The DPP has never denied the historical fact of the cross-strait dialogues that took place in 1992,” Wu said in his CSIS address.
“As for the specific phraseology of the ‘1992 consensus’ created by the KMT [Chinese Nationalist Party] in the year 2000, Dr Tsai advocates a return to the original spirit of setting aside differences to seek common ground that formed the basis of the 1992 cross-strait meetings,” he said.
Wu said that Taiwan’s new government would avoid confrontation and prevent surprises.
“We will, in the new session of the legislature, put forward the cross-strait agreement oversight legislation as a priority to highlight our interest in peaceful and stable relations with China,” he said.
Wu told his audience that the DPP presidential election victory on Saturday was not just about cross-strait relations and the sovereignty issue, but more about the economic situation, food safety, long-term care, income distribution, housing costs and pension reform.
He said the DPP’s overwhelming victory reflected young voters discontent with the KMT, with the performance of local administrations and the DPP’s balanced position on controversial issues.
Wu warned against interpreting the election result as a defeat for China.
“Neither the presidential candidate herself nor the entire DPP campaign team targeted China in any campaign rhetoric or slogans,” he said.
China’s reaction to the election results have been measured and “relatively reserved” Wu said, adding: “It would be inaccurate to interpret the election as China’s defeat.”
Wu said the DPP believed that a mood of reconciliation was critical during the transition period to shift away from green-blue confrontation.
“The long transition until the inauguration on May 20 is a challenge to Taiwan, but it might also present an opportunity for the nation to heal the wound of the long years of political dogfighting,” he said.
Wu said the party would take a low-key and “surprise-free” posture, and make meaningful contributions to the needs of the international community, including China, and a moderate and careful approach toward Beijing would be pursued.
However, improving relations with China would not come at the cost of Taiwan’s relations with the broader international community, he said.
He said the new administration would “rigorously pursue” participation in the second round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal negotiations and seek inclusion in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Wu said that relations with the US would be of “utmost importance” and that the DPP would try to improve economic, security and political ties.
The party would also try to reform legal infrastructure and make the necessary structural adjustments for Taiwan to gain entry into the TPP, Wu said.
“We will increase investment in the defense budget proportionate to Taiwan’s economic growth, particularly increasing investment in Taiwan’s indigenous defense programs for self-defense,” he said.
“We will adopt a consistent and predictable policy agenda with the US so that Taiwan can be regarded as a trustworthy strategic partner that makes a meaningful contribution to US global operations,” he added.
Answering questions from the audience, Wu denied reports that he would be negotiating Taiwan’s trade problems with the US over the import of US pork products.
If China tried to block Taiwan from entering the TPP, it would not be conducive to peaceful and stable relations and that the DPP hoped that the US would help to overcome any objections from Beijing, he said.
Tsai appointed Wu to serve as the DPP’s respresentative to the US in 2012. He served as Taiwan’s representative to the US during former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) administration.
‘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 High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS