President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen, who made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Formosa TV, also questioned the meaning of a visit to China that might demand that the nation's leadership accept some conditions set by Beijing.
``China did not make any concessions,'' he said. "[The formulation] would make Taiwan a special administrative region of China, a part of the People's Republic of China.''
"China's basic attitude has remained the same," he said.
"Why should we go there if we have to accept conditions such as the [so-called] `1992 consensus' and opposition to Taiwan independence?" he said, adding that "we will not go there to surrender."
In response to whether he would visit China and meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao (
He also said he does not think any Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member's visit to China will have a better result, since Beijing still demands that the opposition leaders and their parties, who speak the same language and have close ideological and common backgrounds as their Chinese counterparts, accept certain conditions on dealing with cross-strait issues despite their visits.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Although the Taiwanese people and companies hope Taipei and Beijing can engage in a dialogue to reduce misunderstanding between them, without any concessions China would offer to better its understanding of Taiwan at the present time and only wants the island to accept requests that are not beneficial to Taiwan, he said.
Saying that if he has opportunity to visit China, he will insist on his stance of protecting Taiwan's national sovereignty and the interests of the people of Taiwan, Chen promised never to make concessions on his stance on China.
He said he would hold talks with Chinese officials only on condition that his stance is respected.
Taiwan will negotiate with China if Beijing does not raise any conditions or premises, Chen said, noting, however, that China insists on its "one China" principle, while Taiwan firmly stands by peace, democracy and equality.
Chen said China's "Anti-Secession" Law goes against the principles of peace, democracy and equality and has jeopardized the cross-strait status quo since its enactment in March.
While China might disagree with Taiwan's opinions, it should listen to the Taiwanese people, Chen said, adding that if Beijing only wants to hear what it wants to hear, cross-strait dialogue will not be possible.
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
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Both sides of the Taiwan Strait share a political foundation based on the “1992 consensus” and opposition to Taiwanese independence, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today said during her meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Both sides of the Strait should plan and build institutionalized and sustainable mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation based on that foundation to make peaceful development across the Strait irreversible, she said. Peace is a shared moral value across the Strait, and both sides should move beyond political confrontation to seek institutionalized solutions to prevent war, she said. Mutually beneficial cross-strait relations are what the
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