The government cannot accept the so-called “one country, two systems” arrangement described by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) as Beijing’s solution to solving the “Taiwan problem,” Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said yesterday.
During a meeting with pro-unification groups from Taiwan led by New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming (郁慕明) in Beijing yesterday morning, Xi said that “peaceful unification and the ‘one country, two systems’ policy are [China’s] basic guidelines for solving the ‘Taiwan problem.’”
It was the first time Xi discussed China’s “one country, two systems” framework with visitors from Taiwan since he took office in November 2012.
Photo: CNA
Xi emphasized that “unification” would be “an end to the political standoff, rather than about rebuilding territory or sovereignty.”
He also slammed the movement for Taiwanese independence.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators berated Xi’s remarks, saying that Hong Kong’s example shows that the proposed system is already a failure.
Photo: AFP
“What’s happening in Hong Kong now shows that ‘one country, two systems’ is a failure. Beijing should try to solve the problems in Hong Kong first, because its handling of the political situation in Hong Kong is a slap in its own face,” DPP caucus whip Tsai Chi-tsang (蔡其昌) said in the legislature.
“Before talking about ‘one country, two systems,’ Beijing had better ask how Hong Kongers feel about it first,” Tsai said.
DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said that he suspected that Xi was responding to Ma’s erroneously reported call for eventual “unification” under the German model.
The Presidential Office said on Thursday that a Chinese-language report by Deutsche Welle was a misrepresentation of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) interview with several European media outlets.
“The Chinese Communist Party [CCP] and the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] apparently give each other support to attract pro-
unification, pan-blue camp supporters,” Chen said. “But it is not going to succeed, as most Taiwanese would not buy it.”
Academia Sinica assistant research fellow Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), who is also one of the leaders of the Sunflower movement, called Xi’s remarks “ridiculous,” saying they are only suitable to “slaves wanting to gain favor with the CCP and should not be made public.”
“We understand that different people might have different interpretations of history, but China must not overlook the universal values of democracy and rule of law,” DPP spokesperson Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) said. “Taiwanese insist on making cross-strait exchanges only on the basis of democracy, freedom and the rule of law. The DPP insists that the future of Taiwan should be decided solely by its 23 million citizens.”
Jiang, responding to DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling’s (管碧玲) questions on the matter during a legislative question-and-answer session, said that the Republic of China (ROC), as a sovereign country, has never deemed the “one country, two systems” formula acceptable.
Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said the call for peaceful “unification” has long been the Chinese government’s directive, but it has drawn public attention this time because it was the first time since Xi took office that he mentioned it before Taiwanese visitors.
“Of course we do not agree with it,” Wang said. “We would reiterate our position [to the Chinese government] on an appropriate occasion.”
Kuan asked Jiang whether he agrees that the territory of the ROC is confined to Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.
Jiang rephrased the question by replacing “territory” with “effective rule.”
KMT Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) asked Jiang whether Xi was “expressing goodwill” and “recognizing our sovereignty and territory” when he said that “unification” would not be a reinstitution of sovereignty.
Wang said it would require further observation to determine whether the Chinese government is really “expressing goodwill.”
Presidential Office spokesperson Ma Wei-kuo (馬瑋國) told reporters that the ROC is a 103-year-old sovereign state, and both the government and the people would not accept the “one country, two systems” framework.
In related news, the Chinese-language China Times newspaper published a report before Xi met the group from Taiwan, citing a source as saying that Xi might “reveal a certain message during the meeting,” which, according to a Chinese academic, would probably be a decision on a meeting between Xi and Ma.
According to Xi’s speech released by Xinhua news agency, he did not mention such a meeting.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
OVERWHELMING SUPPORT: The bill with US$2 billion in Foreign Military Financing Program funds and US$1.9 billion to replenish defense articles passed the House 385-34 Taiwan is to continue working with the US to ensure peace in the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday after the US House of Representatives approved a US$95 billion foreign aid package with funding for Taiwan. The bills were passed with bipartisan support in a rare Saturday session after votes had been delayed for months by House Republicans. After clearing the House, the bills — containing US$8 billion for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region, along with US$60.8 billion for Kyiv, and US$26 billion for Israel and humanitarian aid for civilians in conflict zones — would be combined into a
The navy next month is expected to commission into service two more domestically built Tuo Chiang-class stealth missile corvettes, a source said yesterday. The Hsu Chiang (旭江, PGG-621) and the Wu Chiang (武江, PGG-623) would be officially commissioned in a ceremony early next month, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The corvettes, launched in February and June last year respectively, were delivered to the navy in February. They are the third and fourth Tuo Chiang-class stealth missile corvettes to be produced. The Tuo Chiang-class corvette is a domestically designed and manufactured class of fast and stealthy multipurpose corvette built for the