A senior White House official on Friday reiterated US calls for China to show flexibility in its relations with Taiwan, but did not comment on the latest remarks by Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅), which were seen by some in Taiwan as conciliatory.
“We repeatedly encourage our friends in Beijing to show flexibility and creativity in cross-strait relations going forward,” US National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said. “I’m hopeful that will continue.”
However, he said that he was not aware of what Wang had said.
Kritenbrink was responding to Taiwanese reporters’ questions after Wang referred to the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution and said that China hopes president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would stick to the Constitution, something she has pledged to do.
“She was elected on the basis of the current Constitution of Taiwan, which recognizes China and Taiwan are one,” Wang said earlier in the week during a visit to Washington.
“It would be difficult to imagine that someone who is elected on the basis of that Constitution should try to do anything in violation of the Constitution,” he said.
In addition to a rare reference to the ROC Constitution, Wang’s remarks were seen as conciliatory, primarily because he did not mention the so-called “1992 consensus.”
The “1992 consensus” refers to a supposed understanding reached during cross-strait talks in 1992 that both Taiwan and China acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
In 2006, former Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted he made up the term “1992 consensus” in 2000.
Tsai has refused to adopt the formula, but has instead promised to maintain the “status quo” under the framework of the ROC Constitution and not to provoke Beijing.
The MAC on Friday said that it welcomed Bejing’s move to face the ROC Constitution in a practical manner.
However, the MAC emphasized that the Taiwanese government has never accepted Beijing’s version of the “one China” principle.
Former MAC chief Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said Wang’s comments indicated that Beijing is adjusting its attitude, no longer insisting on the term “1992 consensus,” and is willing to establish a new basis for cross-strait political interaction with the newly-elected government.
Former deputy legislative speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday said that Wang’s remarks about the ROC Constitution were “a friendly move.”
“The ROC Constitution is the ‘one China’ principle, which is the gist of the ‘1992 consensus,’” she said.
Hung called on Tsai to abide by the ROC Constitutional framework and warned her against using the Constitution as a guise for stances such as “the ROC is Taiwan,” “the ROC on Taiwan” or “the ROC is Taiwan, Penghu, Kimen and Matsu,” which are all against the Constitution, Hung said.
‘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
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
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