The government must develop a new approach to governing the nation and create a public consensus on its China policy, newly appointed Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) said yesterday.
Chang also said that a meeting between President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) would be extremely difficult to arrange in the short term.
Chang, a former premier and secretary-general of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said the new generation of Chinese leaders is adopting a more flexible strategy regarding Taiwan, and that it was crucial for the nation to build a domestic consensus on cross-strait affairs, to find a breakthrough in cross-strait interaction and to implement a new approach to governing the country.
"Before, the people of Taiwan adopted an uncompromising attitude toward China's missile threat. However, China has changed its strategy over time and is now using softer tactics toward Taiwan," he said.
Examples of this were inviting the opposition parties' leaders to China, allowing customs-duty exemptions for Taiwanese products and opening the Chinese market to Taiwanese fruit, he said.
"Many of our people are confused over whether China's actions amount to goodwill or are just part of its unification war," he said.
In this regard, Chang said he had advised the DPP to adjust its China policy and develop a new theory of governance so that a public consensus on cross-strait relations could gradually emerge.
"I think that the government is obliged to explain to the people its new discourse and direction in governing the country and make them understand the government's dilemma and limitations in Taiwan-China affairs," he said.
Speaking on a potential Chen-Hu meeting, Chang said that although Chen was quite confident about arranging a conference with Hu, such a significant meeting could not possibly be decided unilaterally.
"The world situation is also crucial to any Chen-Hu meeting," Chang said.
"The president has hopes for a meeting but he is patient and is not in a hurry," he said.
Careful preparation, proper timing and mutual trust are indispensable elements for a successful meeting between the leaders of both sides, he said.
"However, to be frank, facilitating a Chen-Hu meeting is still a task of considerable difficulty for the near future," he said.
Chang suggested that the next three years offered a golden opportunity for the two sides to build a channel for negotiations.
"From now until 2008 there will be a more stable period for both sides, which I think is the best time for resuming cross-strait dialogue. If we miss it, it will be hard to say when the next time may be," Chang said.
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
The High Court yesterday found a New Taipei City woman guilty of charges related to helping Beijing secure surrender agreements from military service members. Lee Huei-hsin (李慧馨) was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), making illegal compacts with government employees and bribery, the court said. The verdict is final. Lee, the manager of a temple in the city’s Lujhou District (蘆洲), was accused of arranging for eight service members to make surrender pledges to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in exchange for money, the court said. The pledges, which required them to provide identification
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
’DISTORTION’: Beijing’s assertion that the US agreed with its position on Taiwan is a recurring tactic it uses to falsely reinforce its sovereignty claims, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said Chinese state media deliberately distorted Taiwan’s sovereign status, following reports that US President Donald Trump agreed to uphold the “one China” policy in a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). During the more than one-hour-long call, Xi urged Trump to retreat from trade measures that roiled the global economy and cautioned him against threatening steps on Taiwan, a Chinese government summary of the call said. China’s official Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying that the US should handle the Taiwan issue cautiously and avoid the two countries being drawn into dangerous
RSS