China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) yesterday praised Kaohsiung mayor-elect Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) acceptance of the so-called “1992 consensus,” calling it imperative for Taiwan’s well-being.
Speaking at a news conference in Beijing, Ma emphasized city-to-city interactions rather than relations between central governments, saying he welcomed cross-strait exchanges on the basis of “proper understanding.”
The exchanges would promote “mutual love and well-being for compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” he said.
Photo: CNA
The peaceful development of cross-strait relations would bring both sides concrete benefits, which would include economic, cultural and other types of exchanges, he said.
Ma said Kaohsiung was already beginning to see the benefits of good cross-strait ties, citing the relaunch of Chinese group tour visits to the city on Tuesday.
Ma accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of “obstructing good cross-straight relations for years, to the detriment of Taiwanese.”
The earlier the obstructions were “introduced by the DPP,” the greater the effect they have had on “Taiwanese compatriots,” he said.
The Chinese Communist Party hopes that the livelihood of Taiwanese would be improved more easily through economic development, he said.
In July, Taichung lost the right to host the first East Asian Youth Games, originally set to be held in August next year, due to pressure from China.
Taichung mayor-elect Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕), who also acknowledges the “1992 consensus,” said she would endeavor to have the Games reinstated.
Local media have raised the question of whether China would agree to the city hosting the Games, now that a referendum to change the national team’s name from “Chinese Taipei” to “Taiwan” was rejected on Saturday.
China had originally objected to Taichung hosting the Games on the basis that Taiwanese groups were calling for the name change.
“The failure of the referendum shows that gambling with the rights of athletes will not receive popular support and shows that moves toward Taiwanese independence are doomed to fail,” Ma said.
Ma said the decision to reinstate the city’s right to host the Games ultimately rests with the East Asian Olympic Committee.
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
RSS