The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday rejected accusations that the government had fallen into Beijing’s “one China” policy trap, saying that cross-strait negotiations had been conducted under the framework of the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution.
“Under the framework of the ROC Constitution, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has insisted on maintaining the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, namely there will be no discussion of unification with Beijing during his presidency, no pursuit or support of de jure Taiwanese independence and no use of military force to resolve the Taiwan issue,” MAC Deputy Minister Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) told UNI Radio yesterday morning.
Liu said that both sides have engaged in exchanges and cooperation based on the so-called “1992 consensus,” under which the sovereignty of the ROC has been upheld and Taiwan’s dignity protected.
“Don’t worry. The sovereignty of the ROC is the only solid foundation for setting the administration’s cross-strait policy,” Liu said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government believes the “1992 consensus” was reached during cross-strait talks in Hong Kong in 1992, with both sides agreeing that there is “one China, with each side having its own interpretation.”
The Democratic Progressive Party says the “1992 consensus” does not exist.
Former MAC chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted in 2006 to inventing the term to break the cross-strait deadlock and alleviate tension.
Liu said both sides of the Taiwan Strait must cherish the hard-earned outcome made possible by the establishment of a cross-strait negotiation mechanism.
He was responding to a comment by Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) on Jan. 13 that cross-strait negotiations are possible on the condition that Taiwan opposes independence and recognizes the “1992 consensus.”
Through this mechanism, both sides have been able to set aside their differences and set a direction for advancing the welfare of peoples across the Strait, Liu said.
He added that the two sides had transformed their relationship from hostility to reconciliation, cooperation and peaceful development.
While Beijing has expressed hope that the two sides could ink a cultural pact, Liu said it was more important that both sides ensure that all agreements signed are fully implemented, Liu said.
Taiwan’s cultural circle is most concerned about two things: market access to China and protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), he added.
Since market access is incorporated in the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) and both sides have signed an agreement on IPR, Liu said a platform should be established to produce concrete results.
Neither is it necessary to sign a cooperation agreement on educational exchanges, Liu said, since 163 of Taiwanese educational institutions have inked more than 2,600 exchange arrangements with their Chinese counterparts.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)