Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (
Wu made the comments in response to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's (
Wen addressed the end of China's annual parliamentary session yesterday, saying that China was watching Taiwan closely and preparing for any possible consequences of President Chen Shui-bian's (
Chen was "creating trouble to deflect attention, creating discord on the island and tensions across the Taiwan Strait," Wen said.
The Chinese premier also accused the prospective constitutional reform in Taiwan as being a move toward de jure independence.
Democratic projects
In response, Wu said the government's decision to cease the function of the NUC and the guidelines as well as the constitutional reengineering project "are major undertakings within the democratic political structure. But obviously the Chinese government has no clue at all how democracy works in Taiwan."
"The People's Republic of China dares not to practice democracy and therefore, it has no standing at all to criticize [the democratic practices in Taiwan]," Wu said in a statement released by the MAC yesterday.
Wu said the "one China" principle is the biggest "saboteur" of the cross-strait "status quo" and that China's relentless threat to use force against Taiwan is destabilizing the East Asian region.
"The `Anti-secession' Law China passed on March 14 last year is the hard proof to the world of China's attempts to use force against Taiwan," Wu said.
Wu called on the Chinese government to give up the threat to use force against Taiwan and cease the application of its Anti-Secession Law. He also urged Beijing to abandon the "one China principle" and start political reforms immediately.
Call for dialogue
Also yesterday, the Chinese premier urged the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to give up its pro-independence platform in order to enter talks with China.
"No matter what party affiliation they may have, no matter who they are, no matter what they said or did in the past, as long as they are committed to the `one China' principle, we are ready to have dialogue ... with them, even including those people from the Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan," Wen said.
"As long as the party is willing to give up its platform of so-called `Taiwan independence,' we are ... willing to have contact and consultation with them," Wen said.
But the DPP yesterday dismissed Wen's offer, saying the party's pro-independence stance was approved through a democratic process and could not be dropped so easily.
"They have no idea what democracy is," DPP Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) told a news conference. "If China does not embrace democracy, there will be no peace across the Taiwan Strait."
also see story:
No solutions in PRC land seizure plan
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
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
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