President Chen Shui-bian (
While meeting with Gordon Chang, the Chinese-American writer of The Coming Collapse of China, Chen lambasted Lien's idea, which Lien floated on Sunday after the KMT selected him as its candidate for next year's presidential election.
Lien said that, if elected, he would make an immediate visit to China, dubbing the trip a "journey of peace."
He promised that he would push for the immediate opening of direct air links with China and sign agreements with Beijing so that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait can live in peace.
The president was quick to pour cold water on Lien's plans yesterday.
"China has never acknowledged Taiwan's name and its nationhood. If a certain person [promises to] immediately deny [the existence of] our nation once he is elected as president, [I] don't believe this sort of person would be elected," Chen said.
Chen said the nation's leader could only visit China if he accepts the "one China" principle, which would also mean accepting Beijing's "one country, two systems" and agreeing that Taiwan is a Chinese province or a special administrative region like Hong Kong.
Chen said there would be no Republic of China (ROC) under this scheme and no ROC president.
Defending his plan, Lien urged the president to refrain from setting a bad example in the presidential campaign by using vicious language and encouraged Chen to be "broad-minded."
Chen also reminded voters of the brutal nature of the regime in Beijing.
He said the Chinese government has trampled on human rights by deliberately hiding the spread of a deadly illness and by forbidding the media to cover the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome. (SARS).
Chang said Beijing has made a negative impression on the world with its handling of the outbreak, adding that the incident has reminded the international community that it is irrational to prevent Taiwan from joining international organizations due to pressure from China.
Chen said SARS knows no national boundaries.
"Taiwan's being excluded from the World Health Organization shows disregard for the interests of 23 million Taiwanese," he said.
The president also disagreed with statements by Kenichi Ohmae, a Japanese academic, who predicted that China and Taiwan would form a "Chinese federation" as growing cross-strait integration gives way to political integration.
Chen said he is confident that the DPP will continue to rule after next March's presidential election and that political integration with China would not happen under a DPP administration.
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS