China’s “one country, two systems” model is to a large degree about Taiwan remaining autonomous, a Chinese academic said on Saturday.
Zhou Zhihuai (周志懷), head of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Taiwan Studies, made the comment after US President Barack Obama on Friday told his year-end news conference that “Taiwanese have agreed that as long as they’re able to continue to function with some degree of autonomy, that they won’t charge forward and declare independence.”
The “one country, two systems” concept was the brainchild of former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平), which he put forth during a meeting with then-British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in September 1982.
Deng used the policy to highlight his promise that Hong Kong would be allowed to keep its freedoms when it was returned to China in 1997.
Several Taiwanese academics have since said that while the framework was put into practice in Hong Kong, it was originally designed for “unification” with Taiwan.
Under the “one country, two systems” model, Taiwan would retain a high degree of autonomy in military and foreign affairs activities, Zhou told a forum in Beijing.
“Military affairs, an international presence and participation in international organizations would all be free of hindrance from us. This is the core aspect of ‘one country, two systems,’” Zhou said.
Solving the “Taiwan problem” would require a significant amount of time, but China would not permit moves toward Taiwanese independence in the interim, Zhou said.
Citing a statement that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) made last month during a commemorative event for Republic of China founder Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙), Zhou referred to “six anys.”
“[China] will not permit any person, any organization or any political party at any time, using any means to tear any part of Chinese territory away from the country,” he said.
The telephone call between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and US president-elect Donald Trump earlier this month was “a mishap and a provocation,” Zhou said, adding that the move gave impetus to the “delusions of Taiwan separatists.”
Those who believe that Trump will support Taiwan independence after he takes office are “gravely mistaken,” Zhou said.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
RSS