President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) would not address the two sides of Taiwan Strait as “two nations” in describing cross-strait relations, the Presidential Office said yesterday.
“According to the Constitution, the Republic of China [ROC] is a sovereign nation, and mainland China is an ‘area’ under the structure of the ROC Constitution,” Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said.
“We do not recognize the Chinese communist authorities’ sovereignty. We only hold a non-denial attitude toward its existence in the ‘Mainland area,’” Wang said.
Wang made the remarks in response to a report by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) about changes made by the Presidential Office to Ma’s wording after a meeting with US Representative James Sensenbrenner Jr on Wednesday.
Meeting the US congressman in the Presidential Office, Ma discussed the government’s signing of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China and called on the US Congress to supports Taiwan’s efforts to sign a bilateral extradition agreement with the US.
A press release the Presidential Office issued to media at about 12pm on Wednesday quoted Ma as saying that his administration expected the signing of an ECFA to “institutionalize the more than NT$100 billion [US$3.1 billion] trade volume between the two nations.”
In a press release on the Presidential Office Web site later in the day, however, the term “two nations” was replaced with “two sides.”
Wang said the phrase had been used by “mistake” by a new employee and that the Presidential Office made the correction immediately after discovering the mistake. The president would not make such a mistake, he said.
Wang said the term used by the government reflected the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait under the Constitution and that such a constitutional structure was revised by former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and followed by the Democratic Progressive Party government.
“It also reflects the political reality of the Strait. [The description] shows no signs of weakness. Instead, it highlights the sovereignty of the ROC,” Wang said.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS