Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday closed a forum on cross-strait relations in Hong Kong by saying that mutual trust was important between the DPP and Beijing and that all bilateral exchanges should benefit the public and address their needs.
In his closing remarks to the two-day forum titled “Development and innovation of cross-strait relations,” Hsieh reiterated the importance of rebalancing cross-strait interactions, which have been narrowed down to interactions between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Citing the recently signed cross-strait service trade pact that has drawn heavy criticism in Taiwan, Hsieh said it was a perfect example of how imbalanced interaction could harm bilateral engagement.
While Beijing said it had given Taiwan WTO-plus treatment in the pact, opposition to the agreement and public fear over the “Chinese economic invasion” remained strong because the communication channel has been limited to the KMT and the CCP and Taiwan’s government had failed to make the negotiation process transparent, Hsieh said.
However, Hsieh, who represents the DPP’s moderate wing, which has been attempting to foster closer engagement across the Taiwan Strait, said that it is also imperative for the DPP and the CCP to keep an “appropriate” distance because of the lack of mutual trust at present.
He also highlighted his “two sides, two Constitutions” initiative, saying that Taiwan and China could coexist if both respected each other’s constitutional legitimacy.
Hsieh echoed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) idea of an “Asian community of destiny.”
“We may not share the same history, but we could have a common destiny and future,” he said.
Academics from both sides of the Strait, as well as nine DPP lawmakers, attended the two-day forum, which was organized by Hsieh’s Taiwan Reform Foundation and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Taiwan Studies — the first time a DPP-affiliated organization has organized an event in cooperation with a state-sponsored Chinese think tank.
Hsieh is set to visit Taiwanese businesspeople in Shenzhen, China, today before returning to Taiwan tomorrow.
Commenting on the forum, DPP Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said the seminar attracted individuals from the Chinese government and academia and the seniority of the Chinese officials attending the event showed that Beijing attached great importance to it.
Although there were heated discussions between Chinese and Taiwanese delegates, the event provided a chance for the DPP and Beijing to better understand each other, Chao said.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
BEIJING’S ‘PAWN’: ‘We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture,’ Want Want Holdings general manager Tsai Wang-ting said at a summit in China The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations. The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.” “We, as Chinese, should never
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying
INDO-PACIFIC REGION: Royal Navy ships exercise the right of freedom of navigation, including in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the UK’s Tony Radakin told a summit Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region is as important as it is in the English Channel, British Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said at a summit in Singapore on Saturday. The remark came as the British Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, is on an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region as head of an international carrier strike group. “Upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with it, the principles of the freedom of navigation, in this part of the world matters to us just as it matters in the