Vice president-elect Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) met Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) yesterday afternoon in Hainan, an event hailed by the US as “the best way forward” for Taiwan and China.
The meeting, held on the sideline of the Boao Forum for Asia, made Siew the highest-ranking elected Taiwanese figure to come face-to-face with a Chinese leader since 1949. Siew attended the forum in his capacity as chairman of the Cross-Strait Common Market Foundation, a non-profit organization he founded.
During 20-minutes of talks, Su and Hu said they wanted closer economic ties. They sat side by side after shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries.
PHOTO: AP
Siew, who was accompanied by a 12-member Taiwanese delegation, said that closer economic relations between China and Taiwan would facilitate regional stability and improve the lives of ordinary Taiwanese and Chinese.
Siew expressed hope that Taiwan and China would set aside their disputes with pragmatism and work together to create a bright future that will see a win-win scenario.
“Economic development is the mutual expectation of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” Siew told Hu, calling himself an “old soldier” of economic policy.
Hu said he looked forward to seeing the two sides pursue a consensus amid changing social and economic situations.
“I’d like to exchange ideas with Mr Siew on the issue of economic cooperation across the Taiwan Strait,” Hu said in televised remarks.
Both avoided politics in the live broadcast portions of their meeting.
A report by China Central Television (CCTV) later yesterday said that Hu also asked Siew to send his regards to president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) and former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰). CCTV did not refer to the trio’s titles in its report.
Siew, a veteran of the economic forum, has attended it since 2003 and met Hu there in the past. However, the meeting this time round took on much greater significance as Siew is now vice president-elect. He will assume office on May 20.
In a brief statement after his meeting with Hu yesterday, Siew said the meeting was “very frank, friendly and achieved results,” without elaborating.
During the meeting, Siew suggested “facing reality, inventing the future, putting aside controversy and seeking a win-win situation,” said KMT Legislator Su Chi (蘇起), a member of Siew’s delegation.
Siew suggested that direct cross-strait links could start with the implementation of weekend charter flights, Su said, adding that Siew also talked of opening Taiwan to Chinese tourists, normalizing cross-strait economic relations and trade, and reviving mechanisms for cross-strait negotiation.
Later last night, Chinese authorities issued a statement on the meeting in the form of a CCTV report.
“We will continue to push for cross-strait exchanges in areas such as economy and culture, continue to push for cross-strait weekend charter flights and negotiations on issues concerning visits by Chinese to Taiwan,” CCTV reported. “We will continue to care for the wellbeing of Taiwanese compatriots, safeguard the rights of Taiwanese compatriots and push for cross-strait negotiations.”
Asked to describe the atmosphere of the meeting with Hu, Su said: “Good chemistry, harmonious chemistry.”
“We’re basically trying to break ice that is eight years thick. We want to break the ice and usher in a new period in cross-strait relations with economics, trade and investment,” he said.
Yesterday morning, Siew met former Philippine president Fidel Ramos and was expected later to hold talks with former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke.
Commenting on the meeting between Siew and Hu, Lin Chong-pin (林中斌), former vice minister of defense and president of the Taipei-based Foundation on International and Cross-strait Studies, said “the visit signals in concrete terms a beginning of detente across the Strait. So far that [detente] has only been atmospheric,” he said.
The US has endorsed the meeting and other such cross-strait meetings as “the best way forward.”
US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte made the comment in response to questions by Taiwanese reporters after he made a speech on US-Asia relations in Washington on Friday.
Asked about the expected Siew-Hu meeting, Negroponte said: “We believe that the best way to settle differences over the Taiwan Strait is by peaceful means and we think that dialogue between the People’s Republic of China and the authorities, the leaders in Taiwan, is the best way forward.”
“So, yes, I would say that [a Siew-Hu meeting is] a good way forward,” he said.
Earlier, in a keynote address at a conference of the US Asia Pacific Council, the Washington arm of Hawaii’s East West Center, Negroponte said that the US is “committed to the resolution of any differences that may exist between China and Taiwan over [cross-strait issues] to be settled by peaceful means.”
He also said tthat Ma’s election would help advance cross-strait dialogue.
“We think that the recent election and the rejection of the referendums that were put forward actually opens up the possibility of a new dialogue between the PRC and the political leaders of Taiwan,” Negroponte said.
“So I emphasize to you our commitment to stability, our commitment to the resolution of these issues by peaceful means and our desire to see the dialogue take place as the best way to move forward,” he said.
The statements from Negroponte echoed and augmented those by US President George W. Bush, who, in his message of congratulations to Ma on his victory, called on both sides to engage in dialogue.
Bush gave the same message to Hu five days after the election, when he telephoned Hu and stressed the need for cross-strait talks.
This new emphasis on dialogue by the Bush administration seems to reflect a sense of relief in the administration at the defeat of the Democratic Progressive Party candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and the impending end of the presidency of Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who has alienated the Bush administration over the years.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
PEACEFUL RESOLUTION: A statement issued following a meeting between Australia and Britain reiterated support for Taiwan and opposition to change in the Taiwan Strait Canada should support the peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s destiny according to the will of Taiwanese, Canadian lawmakers said in a resolution marking the second anniversary of that nation’s Indo-Pacific strategy on Monday. The Canadian House of Commons committee on Canada-Chinese relations made the comment as part of 34 recommendations for the new edition of the strategy, adding that Ottawa should back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, first published in October 2022, emphasized that the region’s security, trade, human rights, democracy and environmental protection would play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s future. The strategy called for Canada to deepen
TECH CONFERENCE: Input from industry and academic experts can contribute to future policymaking across government agencies, President William Lai said Multifunctional service robots could be the next new area in which Taiwan could play a significant role, given its strengths in chip manufacturing and software design, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman and chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. “In the past two months, our customers shared a lot of their future plans with me. Artificial intelligence [AI] and AI applications were the most talked about subjects in our conversation,” Wei said in a speech at the National Science and Technology Conference in Taipei. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, counts Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Apple Inc and
LEAP FORWARD: The new tanks are ‘decades more advanced than’ the army’s current fleet and would enable it to compete with China’s tanks, a source said A shipment of 38 US-made M1A2T Abrams tanks — part of a military procurement package from the US — arrived at the Port of Taipei early yesterday. The vehicles are the first batch of 108 tanks and other items that then-US president Donald Trump announced for Taiwan in 2019. The Ministry of National Defense at the time allocated NT$40.5 billion (US$1.25 billion) for the purchase. To accommodate the arrival of the tanks, the port suspended the use of all terminals and storage area machinery from 6pm last night until 7am this morning. The tanks are expected to be deployed at the army’s training
RSS