Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
The BBC interviewed Ma during his visit to the UK on his European tour this month, and was aired on Tuesday in London. During the interview, host Stephen Sackur asked Ma if his cross-strait position was to "side with China," due to his opposition to the president's move to abolish the National Unification Council and guidelines.
Ma appeared agitated during the interview, as he defended both his position and the KMT's cross-strait policy.
PHOTO: TSUNG CHANG-CHIN, TAIPEI TIMES/CTI TELEVISION
"You have in the past been confusing. You've said your ultimate goal is unification with mainland China; you've also said it's an issue that should be settled by Taiwan's 23 million people, and then you said it's an issue that should be settled by people on both sides of the Strait. So which is it?" Sackur asked.
"What I have been saying is that Taiwan's future should be settled by Taiwanese people. This is the consensus of all the people in Taiwan. And they are ..." Ma said.
"What about the people on the other side of the Taiwan Strait?" Sackur interjected.
"Listen to me. There are three options before us: independence, status quo and unification. At the moment, the vast majority of people support the status quo," Ma told the host, later adding, "but in the future, when conditions are ripe, if Taiwanese people have some other thoughts, they could still make that decision according to their free will."
The host also questioned the motives of the pan-blue camp in blocking the arms-procurement deal in the legislature.
Ma, while acknowledging China was a threat to Taiwan, restated his party's opposition to any "unreasonable" procurement bill.
During the interview, Sackur also quoted newspapers criticizing former KMT chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) visit to China last year as a "sellout" of Taiwan, questioning Ma whether he would also "glad-hand" Chinese leaders in Beijing.
Ma said that the KMT would resume talks, sign a peace treaty including a military mutual trust mechanism and try to reach an agreement on establishing a common market if the party regained power in 2008.
"We hope to use these mechanisms to bring peace to the Taiwan Straits instead of an arms race or a confrontation as the Chen administration has done," he said.
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
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have
RSS