Taiwan yesterday cautiously welcomed China's softened rhetoric in defining direct links between the two sides as a "cross-strait" rather than "domestic" issue.
During an interview with Taiwanese journalists in Beijing Wednesday, Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen (
"Direct links is an economic issue, not a political one," Qian said. "[China] will treat direct transport as being cross-strait in nature and set aside the `one China' principle when approaching it."
National Security Council Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) said Qian's latest remarks, if accurately quoted, are worthy of encouragement.
"By labeling the issue as cross-strait rather than domestic, China has adjusted its attitude toward direct links," Chiou told a legislative committee yesterday. "That adjustment is worth encouraging. Still, the two sides should sit down and talk over further details."
Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Shih-meng (
He said the DPP government does not reject full-scale exchanges with China provided they are conducted under the principle of dignity and parity and do not pose a threat to the nation's security.
Over the years, China had consistently defined proposed direct transportation across the Strait as a "special domestic" issue. Last July, Qian said Beijing would downplay the "one China" condition in a bid to promote direct links, provided they are considered domestic.
In yet another concession, Qian said Wednesday the matter should be kept strictly between the two sides and that no ship or airplane needs to carry a national flag when crossing the Strait.
"Ships entering Chinese ports need only to display their corporate flags," Qian was quoted as saying. "What flags they carry on the high seas is not our concern."
Qian added he believes obstacles to cross-strait air travel could be settled in a similar fashion.
"What matters most is the interests of the air companies involved. It should be up to them to discuss things," he said.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Ling-san (
"It is a [sign of] progress for Beijing to stave off the `one China' issue and portray direct transportation links as cross-strait routes," Lin said while briefing the legislature on his ministry's spending plan for next year.
Saying the matter falls outside his jurisdiction, the minister declined to make further comments.
In the past, Beijing had insisted Taipei first recognize the "one China" principle before seeking to resume dialogue.
While willing to tone down his pro-independence language, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) refused to bow to this demand.
Wary of cross-strait entanglement, TSU lawmakers, however, warned the Chen administration not to be taken in by the latest Chinese propaganda.
"The government must not back down in defining cross-strait links as an international issue," TSU legislative whip Lin Chih-lung (
Huang Chung-yung (
He added that Hong Kong's economy has suffered since the former British colony was handed over to Chinese rule in 1997.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
DEFENSIVE EDGE: The liaison officer would work with Taiwan on drones and military applications for other civilian-developed technologies, a source said A Pentagon unit tasked with facilitating the US military’s adoption of new technology is soon to deploy officials to dozens of friendly nations, including Taiwan, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is to send a representative to collaborate with Taiwan on drones and military applications from the semiconductor industry by the end of the year, the British daily reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “Drones will certainly be a focus, but they will also be looking at connecting to the broader civilian and dual-use ecosystem, including the tech sector,” one source was
RSS