Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday said that when he talked about “one China” during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), he was referring to the Republic of China (ROC).
Chu has been criticized over his opening remarks in a meeting with Xi in Beijing on Monday, in which he described the so-called “1992 consensus” by saying that both sides “belong to one China, but with each side ascribing different contents and definitions to the concept of ‘one China.’”
Taiwanese opposition parties accused Chu of making concessions on national sovereignty by recasting the “1992 consensus” under Beijing’s “one China” framework.
Photo: Lai Hsiao-tung, Taipei Times
Chu, who returned to Taiwan early yesterday after a three-day visit to China, said that his phrase “belong to one China,” according to the ROC Constitution, meant “belong to the ROC” — with each side ascribing a different content and definition to “one China.”
Chu added that during his meeting with Xi, he mentioned Taiwan’s history over the past century, as a way to help Beijing understand the existence of different voices in Taiwan and the importance of the two sides agreeing to disagree.
Chu also said the KMT has “expressed a stern protest against and demanded the retraction of” a report by The Associated Press (AP) that said Chu “reaffirmed the party’s support for eventual unification with the mainland” when meeting Xi.
In the article, which AP ran under the headline: “In China, Taiwan party leader calls for more global access,” Chu was reported to have “affirmed his party’s support for eventual unification with the mainland,” according to the KMT.
The report has been widely cited by local media outlets.
In response to reporters’ questions about the AP report, Chu said a protest had been filed with the news agency and a retraction demanded.
“There is no need for some media to maliciously distort or interpret [the meeting or the report] out of context,” Chu said. “We do not have to be trapped by the 1992 consensus, but can look for regional economic cooperation and participation in international organizations, and emphasize how to empower our young people and support small and medium-sized enterprises.”
Late on Monday night, the KMT released a brief statement accusing AP reporter Christopher Bodeen of having made a “serious mistake” in reporting that Chu “reaffirmed his support for eventual unification with the mainland.”
KMT spokesperson Yang Wei-chung (楊偉中) called the report “illusory and inconsistent with the facts,” saying that Chu has “never held such a view and did not talk about issues of unification during the mainland visit.”
The party released another statement yesterday morning asking local media outlets “not to misquote” the article because the AP has since retracted “the report with incorrect content.”
KMT spokesperson Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said that Bodeen had edited the article, removing the remarks that asserted Chu had reaffirmed his support for an eventual union with China.
The edited report said that Chu affirmed his party’s support for “a consensus reached between Chinese and Taiwanese negotiators in 1992 that is interpreted by Beijing as a commitment to an eventual unification,” the KMT said.
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS