The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is setting political thresholds that would hinder, if not make impossible, efforts by incoming president William Lai’s (賴清德) administration to initiate dialogue with China, experts said yesterday.
Citing comments by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華), Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said that the CCP was asking the impossible by demanding that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) set aside its Taiwanese independence stance.
Commenting on Lai’s inaugural address on Monday next week, Chen said that any Taiwanese party willing to recognize Beijing’s “one China” principle would face “no difficulties” when interacting with the CCP, adding that cross-strait dialogue is only possible if the DPP abandons its Taiwanese independence stance.
Photo: Screengrab from the Internet
Taiwanese independence cannot coexist with cross-strait peace, Chen said, adding that Beijing is adamant that Taiwan observe the “one China” principle and the so-called “1992 consensus” to promote peaceful cross-strait relations with the ultimate aim of unification.
The so-called “1992 consensus” — a term that former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the CCP that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Wu said that the CCP’s demands were tailored to make it difficult for the DPP, and that China could very well demand that the KMT give up its claims that the Republic of China (ROC) is a sovereign state.
After all, the CCP considers the ROC defunct and its existence creates the “two Chinas” issue, he said.
Lai would never accept the “one China” principle, and his inaugural address would clarify how Taiwan would approach cross-strait relations based on Taiwanese sovereignty and the sovereignty of the ROC, he said.
Lai has also made it clear that any interaction with China would be based on the understanding that the nations are on equal footing, he added.
China’s actions over the past few years have left no room for the ROC’s interpretation of “one China” and that it willfully ignores Taiwan’s stance, Wu said.
If China insists on placing prerequisites on cross-strait dialogue, it is to blame for undermining cross-strait relations, he said.
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
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
RSS