Taiwan and China need not sign a peace treaty because the Chinese civil war was a matter between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a China expert said yesterday, adding that signing a pact could spur Beiing to launch a war should Taiwan refuse to toe the line.
Ruan Ming (阮銘), a Chinese political analyst and a consultant at the Taiwan Research Institute, told a forum that he was against Taiwan inking a peace accord with China because the civil war involving two parties had nothing to do with Taiwan.
“It is not an issue that the Taiwanese and Chinese should end the civil war and cease the state of hostility,” he said. “If the two sides want to sign any peace treaty, it should be between the KMT and the CCP.”
Once a peace accord is signed, China could wage an “anti-Taiwan independence” war any time should Taiwanese refuse to be annexed by China, Ruan said.
Ruan made the remarks during a forum organized by Taiwan Advocates, founded by former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), to review the impact of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) “one China” policy on Taiwan’s national security in the run-up to the second anniversary of Ma’s inauguration on Thursday.
Ruan said Taiwan and China could develop economic and cultural relationships on the basis of equality and mutual benefits, but there would never be mutual trust or a win-win situation for both sides because they have very different core values and strategies.
Calling the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) the Ma administration seeks to sign with Beijing an “erroneous economic strategy,” Ruan said Ma had made a grave mistake in his political strategy.
“The ECFA is an economic framework for the ‘one-China market,’ while the ‘peace agreement’ is a political framework for the advancement of unification and opposition to Taiwan independence,” Ruan said. “In other words, the peace treaty will be a critical step toward the realization of China's ‘Anti-secession’ Law.”
Ruan said what Taiwan needed right now was to have its own constitution, not to seek Taiwan independence because it is already an independent sovereignty.
“Self-recognition outweighs international recognition,” he said. “It is a fact that the international community calls Taiwan ‘Taiwan,’ but nobody knows where the Republic of China is,” Ruan said.
Vincent Chen (陳文賢), a history professor at National Chengchi University, said Ma's “one-China” policy had gradually eroded Taiwan's sovereignty.
“The Republic of China government and the People’s Republic of China government both claim ownership over Taiwan, but a majority of the 23 million Taiwanese agree that sovereignty resides in them and they have the final say on Taiwan's future,” Chen said. “It is worrying to see Taiwan's sovereignty eaten away as President Ma accepts [the] ‘one China’ [policy] even though he insists that both sides have their own interpretation of what ‘one China’ means.”
Chen also criticized Ma’s pledge of “no unification, no independence and no use of force” as empty and “lip service” aimed at courting moderate voters.
He said Ma made those pledges because he knew unification was not popular in Taiwan.
However, unification remains the KMT's ultimate goal, he said.
Neither can Ma speak for pro-independence activists, he said.
As for Ma’s pledge not to use force, only Beijing could call the shots, he said.
Former representative to Japan Koh Se-kai (許世楷) urged the public to reject KMT candidates at the ballot box if they want a better future.
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
BOOST IN CONFIDENCE: The sale sends a clear message of support for Taiwan and dispels rumors that US President Donald Trump ‘sold out’ the nation, an expert said The US government on Thursday announced a possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet parts, which was estimated to cost about US$330 million, in a move that an expert said “sends a clear message of support for Taiwan” amid fears that Washington might be wavering in its attitude toward Taipei. It was the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. The proposed package includes non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, as well repair and return support for the F-16, C-130 and Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft,
CHECKING BOUNDARIES: China wants to disrupt solidarity among democracies and test their red lines, but it is instead pushing nations to become more united, an expert said The US Department of State on Friday expressed deep concern over a Chinese public security agency’s investigation into Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) for “secession.” “China’s actions threaten free speech and erode norms that have underpinned the cross-strait ‘status quo’ for decades,” a US Department of State spokesperson said. The Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau late last month listed Shen as “wanted” and launched an investigation into alleged “secession-related” criminal activities, including his founding of the Kuma Academy, a civil defense organization that prepares people for an invasion by China. The spokesperson said that the US was “deeply concerned” about the bureau investigating Shen
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual