Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday said that Hsu Wen-long's (許文龍) advocacy of "one China" in a newspaper advertisement Saturday was his personal statement, and not the government's position.
Hsieh said he would try to understand what may have occurred behind the scenes to influence Hsu's move.
"The government's position is clear: we oppose any kind of `one China' principle unilaterally defined by China," Hsieh said during a visit to the Taipei Fine Arts Museum yesterday morning. "Hsu's words are not the government's policy."
Hsu, the founder of the Chi Mei Group and an adviser to the president, surprised many by publishing a letter on Saturday in a newspaper saying that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belonged to "one China," and that he opposed the Taiwan independence movement.
Hsu, who had been warned by China about his apparent pro-independence leanings, is generally seen as an advocate of a new Taiwanese nation and a good friend of the Democratic Progressive Party.
Hsieh said Hsu's statement was very strange to him and "I would like to understand more about his real intent."
Cabinet spokesman Chou Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said Hsu is a respectable businessman who has greatly contributed to the nation's economy.
He said it was more likely that Hsu had somehow been pressured into making the statement, rather than having a real change of heart.
"Beijing has been pressuring Taiwanese businesspeople operating in China to take a pro-China position, and it is likely that Beijing forces them to say things that go against their hearts," Chou said.
He said that most Taiwanese wouldn't believe such statements because they know they are not sincere.
"The premier chatted with Hsu in January," Chou said. "They exchanged views on business and politics. The premier did not detect any change in Hsu's political stance at that time."
Chou said, however, that Hsu's word might reflect the vulnerability of Taiwanese businesspeople operating in China, and that the government should help them.
Meanwhile, Hsieh said yesterday that he was glad that Saturday's demonstration against China's "Anti-Secession" Law ended successfully and peacefully. The world now knows that Taiwanese will not accept China's threats, he added.
The government won't resume dialogue with China at this time because the atmosphere between both sides has been bad, he said. Chou said the government will wait to see if Beijing makes any friendly gestures toward Taiwan to offset its enactment of the "Anti-Secession" Law.
Such gestures could included passing regulations protecting the rights of Taiwanese businesspeople in China, or agreeing to resume cross-strait talks on an equal footing.
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS