The Presidential Office vowed to push cross-strait relations on the basis of the so-called “1992 consensus,” following Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s (溫家寶) speech in Beijing yesterday.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said cross-strait relations would make peaceful progress if both sides extended goodwill.
As for Wen’s call for a “comprehensive economic cooperation agreement,” Deputy Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said the government knows that China’s financial system has structural problems and it hoped quasi-official agencies could help resolve the problems.
The government also hoped to see both sides engage in trade exchanges and interactions based on the existing foundation, he said, adding that under such a framework, both sides could march more confidently down the road of peace and mutual existence.
Responding to Wen’s comment about Taiwan’s international space, Liu said mutual trust was vital before tackling “very difficult” issues. Public consensus was equally important, taking into account that Taiwan is a diverse society and a democracy, Liu said.
As for Wen’s comment that Beijing was willing to negotiate on Taiwan’s desire to participate in the activities of international organizations on the basis of the “one China” policy, Liu said: “Mainland China should extend more goodwill gestures to our wish to have more international space.”
Liu said both sides must face reality. Any cross-strait issues must be dealt with by an institutionalized cross-strait negotiation mechanism and proceed under the principles of equality and dignity, he said.
Taiwan Solidarity Union Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) said Wen’s speech suggested China does not recognize Ma’s “one China, with each side having its own interpretation.”
However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Justin Chou (周守訓), convener of the Foreign and National Defense Committee, shrugged off Wen’s repetition of Beijing’s “one China” principle: “There is no need for us to react excessively. Today was not the first time [he has made such a remark].”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
POSSIBILITIES EMERGE: With Taiwan’s victory and Japan’s narrow win over Australia, Taiwan now have a chance to advance if South Korea also beat the Aussies Taiwan has high hopes that the national baseball team would advance to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-finals after clinching a crucial 5-4 victory over South Korea in a nail-biting extra-inning game at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. Boosted by three home runs — two solo shots by Yu Chang (張育成) and Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) and a two-run homer by Stuart Fairchild — the triumph gave Taiwan a much-needed second victory in the five-team Pool C, where only the top two finishers would advance to the knockout stage in Miami, Florida. Entering extra innings with the game tied at four apiece, Taiwan scored
MISSION OF PEACE: The foreign minister urged Beijing to respect Taiwan’s existence as an independent nation, and work together to ensure peace and stability in the region Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday rejected Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s (王毅) comments about Taiwan, criticizing China as a “troublemaker” in the international community and a disruptor of cross-strait peace. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Chinese National People’s Congress, Wang said that Taiwan has always been a territory of China and that it would be impossible for it to become its own country. The “return” of Taiwan to China was the natural outcome of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japan in World War II, and that any pursuit of independence was “doomed
One person was killed and another seven injured today when a tourist shuttle bus plunged 30m to 40m down a ravine in Nantou County, the Tourism Administration said. The bus is suspected to have suddenly accelerated out of control near the flower center of the Sun-Link-Sea Forest Recreation Area, a popular attraction during cherry blossom season. Of the eight onboard, a 66-year-old man was killed, four were seriously injured and three sustained minor injuries, including the driver. The Nantou County Police Department said it received a report of the incident at 12:15pm and dispatched seven teams to assist. All surviving passengers have been transferred
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