President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday called on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to model itself on the Republic of China (ROC), which he said “remade itself in Taiwan” during the past six decades.
Yesterday marked the centennial of the beginning of the Xinhai Revolution, which ended imperial rule in China and led to the establishment of the ROC by Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙).
Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) on Sunday made an appeal for unification with Taiwan, saying Taiwan and China should achieve “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” together.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Hu’s speech was characterized by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as a “stark denial” of the assertion under the so-called “1992 consensus” that each side could have its own interpretation of “one China.” The consensus has been a cornerstone of Ma’s cross-strait policy.
Ma’s Double Ten National Day speech did not respond to Hu’s call, but toward the conclusion, Ma said: “The republic’s road ahead and Taiwan’s future lie in the hands of our 23 million people.”
However, like Hu, Ma used the same term Zhonghua minzu (中華民族) when he described the people of both sides of the Taiwan Strait, while the official English version of his speech translated the term as “ethnically Chinese.”
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Titled “A Century of Struggle, a Democratic Taiwan,” Ma divided his speech into three parts — “Why we commemorate the Xinhai Revolution,” “The ROC remakes itself in Taiwan” and “New prospects to unfold with a golden decade.”
Commemorating the Xinhai Revolution, which he called “a memory and heritage shared by both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” Ma encouraged China to “courageously move in the direction” of a free and democratic nation set by Sun.
Ma also urged China to “face the existence of the Republic of China head-on” as the ROC’s existence “is referred to not in the past tense, but in the present.”
“Had it not been for the retrocession of Taiwan from Japan to the republic, the setbacks encountered by ROC armed forces in the civil war against the communists in mainland China might have spelled the death of the republic more than six decades ago, with no chance for a transformative rebirth or possibility of development of the two sides of the Strait along different trajectories,” Ma said.
The ideals that Sun sought in establishing the republic were not achieved in China during his lifetime, but have come to full fruition in Taiwan, with Taiwanese now enjoying freedom, democracy and affluence, Ma said.
The country has cultivated an image that is “free and democratic; robust and innovative; caring and compassionate; and globally engaged and self-confident,” Ma said, citing various individuals and their stories as examples.
Turning to the future, Ma reiterated his campaign pledge and slogan that he would usher in a “golden decade” of prosperity in his second term if he were re-elected.
“In the face of the pressure of global competition, the next decade will be a critical period for us. We must strive to fully realize our vision for a golden decade. We must remain confidently engaged with the world, pursuing development through innovation, and moving forward in the spirit of social justice,” he said.
Ma said the 15 agreements his administration has signed with China since May 2008 all conformed to the principle of “parity, dignity and reciprocity, while putting Taiwan first for the benefit of its people.”
“The people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are ethnically Chinese. Our hope is that the two sides will be able — based on a clear-eyed appreciation and acceptance of reality — to seek common ground, while respecting differences, assist and cooperate with each other, and build a peaceful relationship within an institutionalized framework,” he said.
Ma said that this month also bore special significance for him on a personal level.
“Sixty years ago in October 1951, at a time of great turmoil, my parents brought their family, including one-year-old me, from Hong Kong to Taiwan, seeking a life of freedom and tranquility. Never could they have imagined that more than 50 years later, their son would have the opportunity to become the ROC president,” Ma said.
At a separate event later in the day, Ma told a gathering of China-based Taiwanese businesspeople that the country had become an asset to the world, not a liability.
Ma said building a peaceful relationship with China within an institutionalized framework was the nation’s first line of defense, which was more important than procuring F-16C/D aircraft.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source