Taiwan will not give up the democracy it has achieved, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said in an interview as he expressed hope that the new leadership in China would have a more in-depth understanding of Taiwan.
Su made the remarks in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, stressing the fact that “Taiwan is an independent, sovereign country” that adheres to the democratic principle of government and that “no amount of money is worth losing our freedom and democracy, because those are Taiwan’s core values.”
Su said that Taiwan would face big changes from the transition of power within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) — which is to culminate in a transition of power to the ascending “fifth-generation” CCP leaders — that is set to take place in the latter half of this year at the CCP’s 18th National Party Congress, as well as from the US’ presidential election, which is scheduled for December.
Photo: Taipei Times
“We can see the that US considers the Asia-Pacific region [important] with its return to Asia policy,” Su said, adding that since the DPP is a political party of a country in the region, it has a responsibility to do its best for Taiwanese and Taiwan.
Speaking about Xi Jinping (習近平), the heir-apparent of Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), Su said: “I hope he will have a better understanding of Taiwan, adopt a more accommodating attitude and more modern approach to improve the relations between the two sides.”
Noting Xi’s extensive time working with China’s Fujian Provincial Government and significant contact with Taiwanese businesspeople in the area, Su said: “Hopefully, Taiwanese businessmen in China will be given better and more reasonable protection, and there will be less confrontations and more dialogues and exchanges.”
Saying his party is not averse to interacting with China and that he would like to welcome more Chinese to Taiwan to see for themselves what Taiwan is like, Su said the current problem with Beijing is that it interacts with only the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and is biased in its view toward Taiwan.
If China wants to understand Taiwan, then it has to come into contact with the DPP, which represents the majority of Taiwanese, Su said, adding that the DPP would also have to have a general understanding of China.
Su said the “Taiwan consensus” — an initiative he presented in April last year — if it were adopted, would increase cross-strait dialogue and understanding and replace confrontation with peace to cement democratic development.
Su said that as long as both sides of the Strait understood each other, harm and danger could be avoided.
He added that remarks by Chinese People’s Consultative Conference Chairman Jia Qinglin (賈慶林) proved China was cornering Taiwan on “one China.”
Jia said the core of the “one China” framework is that “the mainland and Taiwan belong to one country.”
The KMT has always preached the so-called “1992 consensus” on there being “one China, with each side having its own interpretation,” Su said, adding that China has taken the policy one step further and has not only ignored the “each side having its own interpretation” part, but replaced “one China” with “one country.”
This has deprived President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the chance to say that “one China” means the Republic of China, Su said.
“Taiwan is a sovereign independent country that prizes its democratic government and it is the consensus of everyone in the nation to maintain liberty, freedom and respect for human rights,” Su said, adding that Taiwan could well do business with China, but the only things it would not sell are its democracy, freedom and sovereignty.
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
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
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