Staff Writer, with CNA
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said he “hoped for the continued prosperity and development of China and wished Chinese authorities would accelerate efforts on democratic politic reform to safeguard human rights.”
In a statement issued by the Presidential Office in response to the impact of the so-called “Jasmine Revolution” on China, Ma also said he hoped the Chinese government would adopt “new concepts” and treat people with dissenting opinions more leniently.
“Let democracy and human rights be the eternal common language of the people across the strait,” Ma said.
Joseph Chen (陳永豐), director of the Presidential Office’s Department of Public Affairs, held a press conference in the afternoon to announce Ma’s official position on the protests in China.
“President Ma feels that democracy and human rights are values accepted by all, and are the extension of the principles advanced by Mencius [孟子] and Confucius [孔子],” Chen said.
“More importantly, it is the core value of Taiwanese and an -important index by which to measure the cross-strait relationship,” Chen said.
CONCERN
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) expressed concern and support yesterday for a message posted on the Internet two days earlier calling for a “Chinese Jasmine Revolution.”
Tsai, who made the remark during a meeting of the DPP legislative caucus, said the uprisings in the Middle East and the democratic movements in China are significant events and represent important international trends.
Taiwan’s insistence on democracy and human rights are the country’s most valuable assets and represent the foundations of the party’s development, Tsai said.
In the face of the great challenges from China, the DPP will protect the values of Taiwan and support jasmine revolutions across China and Middle East, she said.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2