China's Vice Premier Qian Qichen (
"As long as Taiwan authorities agree to solve the Taiwan problem under the `one China' principle, we can patiently wait," Qian told an audience of senior statesmen and strategists at the China-sponsored International Forum on China and the World in the 21st Century.
The statement appeared to be a departure from China's earlier statements warning it would use force against Taiwan if the country delayed unification indefinitely.
Qian said the policy Beijing proposed for unifying with Taiwan would be "broader" than that for Hong Kong and Macau.
Taiwan would be able to main-tain its own government structure, military and currency, Qian said. It would also remain an independent customs zone and Beijing would not levy a single penny of taxes on Taiwan or send its officials to the country to take office.
"The way of living of the Taiwanese people will remain unchanged," he said.
"Taiwan entrepreneurs can keep their property and assets. Taiwan will have autonomous recruitment of their officials. The mainland government won't send officials to Taiwan."
But Qian reiterated Beijing's stance that Taiwan must accept the "one China" principle, under which Beijing defines Taiwan as an inseparable part of China.
He also said China could not give up the threat of force because this would "encourage Taiwan independence forces and will make peaceful unification impossible," although he didn't say under what circumstances military strength might be used.
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has rejected Beijing's offer of "one country, two systems."
An official from the Mainland Affairs Council rejected the offer yesterday, saying it was not new.
"Why should we accept? The Republic of China is a sovereign state. Should we accept the offer? The ROC government would be relegated into a local government and that would be by no means acceptable," the official said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source