Saying that he was not surprised about Beijing's rhetoric yesterday, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) called on his compatriots to be patient, as the US had recommended.
Chen made the remarks in response to media inquiries about Beijing's criticism of his National Day speech.
"The US had -- in private -- expressed their support, and welcomed my National Day speech and the goodwill which it conveyed," Chen said.
"The US also told me that the other side would definitely have this kind of reaction, and told me that both A-bian and the government must be patient, and hope that the people would have patience as well," Chen added.
Chinese authorities yesterday dismissed President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) proposals for resuming cross-strait talks, saying Chen's National Day speech was a blatant assertion of Taiwanese independence, and as such was a serious provocation of cross-strait tensions.
"Chen Shui-bian's call to ease cross-strait tensions is fake; His moves to bring about Taiwanese independence are real," said Zhang Mingqing (
Zhang rejected Chen's proposal on Sunday that cross-strait negotiations resume on "the basis of the 1992 meeting in Hong Kong," saying that China has long held that talks will be possible when Taiwan recognizes the "1992 consensus."
The 1992 meeting in Hong Kong was conducted between representatives from the semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation in Taiwan and its counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS). Taiwanese officials from the ruling party hold that no agreement was reached during the meeting, saying that there is a "Spirit of 1992," namely the willingness to put political differences aside and focus on practical issues, but no such thing as a "1992 consensus."
According to Zhang however, the "1992 consensus" refers to the agreement between the SEF and ARATS to verbally express each party's interpretation of its adherence to the "one China" principle.
Despite China's rejection of Chen's overtures, the nation's top cross-strait policymaking body seemed willing to continue waiting for a positive response from China.
"The government's goodwill and stance have not changed. Taiwan is willing to wait patiently for China to seriously consider and come to an understanding of Taiwan's appeal," Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Vice Chairman Chiu Tai-san (
The MAC also asked China to think in "concrete terms" in a press statement issued yesterday evening. The statement reiterated Taiwan's willingness to agree to direct, chartered passenger and cargo flights with routes going both ways between Taiwan and China, calling on China to authorize representatives to discuss details.
MAC's call for talks come despite China's first clear assertion that the chartered flights be considered domestic routes since Taiwan first initiated discussions on the matter this September.
Zhang said yesterday that Taiwan had failed to respond to China's requirements. He said that flights would have to be considered domestic, be direct and reciprocal, and be beneficial to both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Zhang's statements move toward a more conservative stance in light of Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen's (
However, cross-strait analysts yesterday said that China's response was not surprising.
"Before the year-end legislative elections, China's response is to be expected. It is not possible that China would give Chen any credit before the elections," said Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), executive director of the Institute for National Policy Research. It is believed that a positive response from China regarding Chen's National Day Speech will lend a hand to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) goal of taking more than half of the legislative seats in the upcoming elections.
Lo forecasted that there was more to come, pointing out that China's response yesterday had come in the form of an official's remarks, a far cry from Chen's speech, which had come after repeated reminders that an important announcement was to be issued.
"We must still look to the May 17 statement. [China's response] yesterday were just remarks and not a statement. A statement is the work of collective wisdom," Lo said.
"Policy initiatives require certain political realities to support them. In this case, the political realities are the upcoming US and legislative elections ... After the elections, China will be able to look again to Chen's words and evaluate whether it is workable or feasible," Lo said.
With regard to Zhang's demand that Taiwan admit to the 1992 consensus, former deputy national defense minister and MAC vice chairman Lin Chong-pin (
"When the 1992 consensus was first introduced by then MAC chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2000, China failed to make a response. Now China is running after opportunities that they have lost," Lin said.
While refraining to make predictions as to the possibility of talks on cross-strait flights, Lin pointed out that Beijing seemed to exhibit more agility in handling cross-strait issues pertaining to the "people of Taiwan," as opposed to the government.
"They [China] divide the two things very distinctly. Regarding cross-strait interaction involving Taiwanese people, Beijing under Hu seems to be becoming more agile and engaging. But other issues regarding Taiwan's status as a sovereign country have not changed a lot, especially with regard to our international living space. They have not relaxed this aspect one bit," Lin said yesterday.
While Lin said that China did not have to wait until after the legislative elections to respond positively to Taiwan's cross-strait flights proposals, given its willingness to be flexible in areas such as "cross-strait flights, or social activities," he said that China had a habit of making last minute decisions.
"They wait until 11:59 before making a move," he said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS