President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) inaugural address emphasized regional and cross-strait stability, active participation in international trade deals and deepening relationships with democracies such as the US, Japan and European nations, academics said, adding that Tsai was sending a message to Washington and Tokyo, calling on them to take Taiwan more seriously.
Taiwan Association of University Professors secretary-general Hsu Wen-tang (許文堂) — commenting on Tsai not affirming the so-called “1992 consensus” — said there were indeed talks between then-chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫) and then-chairman of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Wang Daohan (汪道涵), and that is why Tsai said the cross-strait interaction of the time is a “historical fact.”
However, the term “1992 consensus,” coined by former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) for then-president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) use, is fake, and mostly not accepted by Taiwanese, Hsu said.
“Tsai’s phrasing of the cross-strait relationship [in the speech] was intended to not allow China room to make a fuss,” Hsu said.
The “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Hsu said Tsai’s message that she intended to further develop relationships with the US, Japan and European countries and cooperate with them based on common values was a call to the international community and democracies around the world to see Taiwan as a crucial partner.
Tsai stressed the Republic of China’s constitutional order as a message to China that there is no room to bargain over sovereignty, Hsu said, adding that Tsai is also expected to bolster cooperation with the US in the South China Sea and uphold freedom of navigation in those waters.
Chen Mu-min (陳牧民), chairman of the Graduate Institute of International Politics at National Chung Hsing University, said the highlight of the diplomatic policies in Tsai’s speech was the importance placed on Taiwan’s connections with the international community.
While former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) emphasized “Taiwanese consciousness” and Ma focused on cross-strait peace, the new government has shown that it plans to improve ties in the region by participating in Asia-Pacific activities and building an economic community to scale the nation’s economy upward, Chen Mu-min said.
Tsai highlighted that Taiwan would be a staunch guardian of regional peace while deepening its relationship with the US and Japan based on the universal values of peace, democracy, liberty and human rights, Chen Mu-min said.
“She also asserted that Taiwan would not be a troublemaker in the South and East China seas,” he 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
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
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
RSS