Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday rejected a Chinese general’s claim that he had planned to conduct a military exchange with China, but that the plan was foiled by the US.
Ma had proposed that Taiwan dispatch four military officials to China, and Beijing likewise send four officials to Taipei to discuss “confidence-building measures,” People’s Liberation Army major general Zhu Chenghu (朱成虎) said on Monday, according to Chinese media reports.
However, the US prevented the proposed military exchange with its “five red lines,” which hindered progress in cross-strait relations, Zhu told an international security forum in Beijing.
Photo: China Review News Agency
The five red lines are: there cannot be a confidence-building mechanism between Taiwan and China; the two nations cannot unite over the South China Sea issue against other countries that have competing territorial claims; Taiwan and China cannot unite against Japan over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) issue; they cannot conduct talks on military technology; and interactions between retired Taiwanese and Chinese military personnel cannot be institutionalized, Zhu said.
Ma’s office rejected Zhu’s claim, saying: “There was nothing of the sort.”
Representatives at last year’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party forum touched on the topic of confidence-building measures, but the discussions were limited to academic debates, the office said.
Confidence-building measures have been discussed as military confrontation between Taiwan and China has not officially ended, although bilateral relations have substantially improved from actual military conflicts to regular economic and cultural exchanges.
Following the 823 Artillery Bombardment on Aug. 23, 1958, China did not cease its sporadic shelling of Kinmen until it established formal relations with the US in 1979.
Military tensions temporarily intensified in 1996, as China conducted missile tests ahead of a presidential election in Taiwan, but there have been no military conflicts despite sporadic accidents.
Zhu said Washington opposes the unification of Taiwan and China, because it would strengthen Beijing’s position as a rival.
Moreover, Washington cannot stand being marginalized in cross-strait affairs and will continue to use Taiwan as leverage to rein in China and slow its development, Zhu said.
He added that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would not declare independence, because that would endanger relations with Beijing, but Tsai cannot pacify the independence supporters among her Democratic Progressive Party.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)