Reacting to pending China visits by opposition party leaders, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday passed a resolution containing "three oppositions" and "three insistences" for assessing the words and actions of political leaders meeting Chinese officials.
The DPP central executive committee yesterday passed the "Resolution on Political Party Visits to China," proposed by DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌). It asks DPP members and officials to interpret cross-strait interaction in line with the resolution.
"The purpose of China's repeated invitations to Taiwan's politicians is simply to alienate Taiwan," DPP Secretary-General Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) said.
"It is impossible for the DPP to be silent over Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party [PFP] Chairman James Soong's (宋楚瑜) trips to China. We think their visits to China are unfortunate and might damage Taiwan's hard-won democracy," he said.
"It is necessary to declare the DPP's attitude towards these recent developments with a statement in black-and-white," Lee said. "We expect this resolution will become a basic guideline for the DPP in dealing with cross-strait affairs and assessing the behavior of politicians in China."
The first of the "three oppositions" opposes acceptance of the so-called "1992 Consensus" based on the "one China" principle as a condition for visiting China. The second opposes political parties negotiating with Chinese authorities without government authorization on issues involving sovereignty or government power. The third opposes any act by China that attempts to degrade or "localize" Taiwan.
The first of the "three insistences" states that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent and sovereign country belonging to the 23 million Taiwanese people and that any change to this requires the consent of the Taiwanese people. The second states that cross-strait disputes must be solved by peaceful means and that any Chinese government attempt to use force should be strongly condemned. The third states that the nation's participation in international society should not be suppressed and that the people of Taiwan sternly oppose China's "Anti-Secession" Law.
Lee said that DPP members who are serving as county commissioners and city mayors should not go to China at this time, even if they were invited by Chinese officials.
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
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