The cross-strait missile crisis that began in 1996 is far from over as peace in the Taiwan Strait is still imperiled by China's continuing military buildup, Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday.
"China's perpetual military buildup has complicated the already volatile cross-strait situation and seriously threatened regional peace," he said. "While some people debate whether to accept China's offer of pandas or to cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party, China's military buildup is an issue that deserves serious attention from both the public and international community."
Wu made the comments while attending a forum in Taipei yesterday to mark the 10th anniversary of the 1996 missile crisis.
Beijing began a campaign of intimidation between June 1995 and March 1996 in reaction to the US giving a visa to former president Lee Teng-hui (
On March 8, 1996, Beijing launched an eight-day live fire drill in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to intimidate Taiwanese voters.
Wu said the government will continue to extend goodwill gestures to Beijing in the hope of seeking reconciliation, cooperation and peace in the Strait despite Beijing's indifference.
The government will continue to promote democratic reform and safeguard the status quo in the Strait, he said. It will also push for China's democratization and the establishment of a new balance of power in the Strait on the basis of democracy and peace, he said.
Wu said Taiwan has transformed itself into a democratic country over the past decade, while China continues to be run by an authoritarian regime which resorts to military might to settle disputes.
Even though Beijing's fundamental Taiwan policy has remained the same over the past decade, Wu said there have been changes.
First, he said, the "rise of China" has fueled tension in the Taiwan Strait and threatened safety in the Asia-Pacific region.
Second, Beijing has made aggressive attempts to change the status quo in the Strait since it passed the "Anti-Secession" Law last March. The legislation, he said, reflects the true nature of China's "non-peaceful rise" and has helped convince the international community that China is a threat to regional peace.
Third, Beijing has let its political maneuvering dictate cross-strait exchanges and interactions, he said. Instead of conducting talks with the duly elected Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government, China has courted the pro-unification opposition with the aim of defining cross-strait exchanges as a "domestic affair," he said.
Meanwhile, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Tsai Ming-hsien (
"It has been 10 years since the 1996 cross-strait missile crisis took place and one year since China enacted the `Anti-Secession' Law, but what we see is Beijing's increasingly tougher stance despite our efforts to push for peace and democracy in the Taiwan Strait," Tsai said at the forum.
He urged the opposition parties to pass the long-stalled arms procurement package.
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
LONG-HELD POSITION: Washington has repeatedly and clearly reiterated its support for Taiwan and its long-term policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday said that Taiwan should not be concerned about being used as a bargaining chip in the ongoing US-China trade talks. “I don’t think you’re going to see some trade deal where, if what people are worried about is, we’re going to get some trade deal or we’re going to get favorable treatment on trade in exchange for walking away from Taiwan,” Rubio told reporters aboard his airplane traveling between Israel and Qatar en route to Asia. “No one is contemplating that,” Reuters quoted Rubio as saying. A US Treasury spokesman yesterday told reporters
RSS