The government rejected a proposal from Beijing to negotiate with Taiwanese aviation representatives about cross-strait flights yesterday, saying that discussion was impossible under the shadow of the military threat from China.
Just three days before China is slated to pass legislation that would set the stage for military aggression against Taiwan, Chinese aviation official Pu Zhaozhou (
Pu extended the invitation in his non-governmental capacity as the Chinese Civil Aviation Association executive director and Straits Aviation Exchange Commission vice chairman.
Beijing has been pushing for co-operation on cross-strait chartered passenger flights during Tomb-sweeping Day, which this year falls on April 5.
The invitation, however, was received with scorn in Taipei, with the nation's top cross-strait policymaking body saying the proposal was a thinly disguised attempt at bringing about political unification with China.
"The Taiwanese people can see right off the bat that this is just part of China's `war for unification,'" Mainland Affairs Council Spokesman Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) said.
Asked whether the government would accept Pu's invitation, Chiu responded: "Given the military threats from Beijing, could we possibly accept?"
Lo also confirmed that he would not be taking up China's offer.
"It's impossible that I go, as the government has not authorized me to do so," Lo said yesterday afternoon, indicating that he planned to relay the government's decision to Pu soon.
As the government's authorized representative, Lo hammered out an agreement with Pu in January that resulted in Lunar New Year chartered direct flights.
When Beijing first proposed last month another round of flights next month, Taiwan had said at the time that it would have to complete its assessment of the Lunar New Year flights before making a decision on Tomb-sweeping Day flights.
As Taiwan had earlier set cross-strait cargo flights as a priority, China's call for passenger charters next month was given a lukewarm reception.
Chiu said that government agencies had met earlier this month to review the impact the Lunar New Year flights had on cross-strait relations, but said that the "anti-secession" law added a new dimension to deliberations.
"The anti-secession law will inevitably become another factor we consider in assessing future opportunities for cross-strait exchange" Chiu said yesterday morning during a scheduled press conference.
Cabinet spokesman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) echoed Chiu's sentiments, telling the Bloomberg newswire yesterday that Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) would not "make any decisions [on closer air links] in the next week or two because the atmosphere with the passage of the anti-secession law isn't good."
Bloomberg further quoted Cho as saying "We don't want to respond to China's bad intentions with a goodwill gesture. We just want to wait and see."
Chiu warned that the bill would cause considerable backlash in Taiwan and that the ambiguous terms Beijing had employed in its proposed anti-secession bill would further strain relations. He pointed out that "non-peaceful means" could be anything, citing military blockades, economic embargos, and diplomatic intimidation as possibilities.
Chiu also said that the ambiguity of China's anti-secession bill was enough to put a halt to the perceived warming in cross-strait relations in recent months.
"What concerns us more is the bill's reference to `other necessary measures.' The uncertainty that this phrase poses will be a significant assault on future cross-strait economic cooperation," Chiu said.
also see story:
Freeze on charter flight talks urged
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