President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has reiterated her proposal that Taipei and Beijing create a new model to handle cross-strait relations, which have been at a standstill since her inauguration in May last year.
Taiwan hopes that both sides can begin to think about the matter after the conclusion of the Chinese Communist Party’s 19th National Congress, at which the party’s new leadership is to be elected, Tsai said in an interview with the Central News Agency published yesterday.
The week-long congress is scheduled to begin on Oct. 18.
Photo: CNA
The two sides of the Taiwan Strait have for many years dealt with their ties based on an established model and guidelines, which to a certain extent have helped maintain cross-strait stability, Tsai said.
However, in view of new international situations, they should consider whether there is a need to examine such old practices and mindsets, she said.
“If we keep sticking to these past practices and ways of thinking, it will probably be very hard for us to deal with the volatile regional situations in Asia,” Tsai said.
Unhappy that Tsai’s government has refused to recognize the so-called “1992 consensus,” Beijing has suspended official dialogue with Taipei since she took office.
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is only “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Beijing has insisted that the Tsai administration explicitly accept the “1992 consensus” — which in effect says that Taiwan is part of China — as the political foundation for the continuation of relatively warm relations under her predecessor, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
However, Tsai has only been willing to say that she respects the historical fact that cross-strait talks took place and that some understanding was reached.
Both sides have made considerable efforts to maintain cross-strait stability over the past 16 months, Tsai said, but added that on major political issues, “they feel we have not reached their expectations, but we have already shown the utmost goodwill.”
She reiterated that the viewpoints outlined in her inaugural address would remain her principles in dealing with cross-strait ties.
In her inauguration speech, Tsai promised that her administration would work to maintain the existing mechanisms for dialogue and communication across the Taiwan Strait and would conduct cross-strait affairs in accordance with the Republic of China Constitution, the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) and other relevant legislation.
She also recognized that “there was joint acknowledgement of setting aside differences to seek common ground” in the 1992 talks between representatives of Taipei and Beijing.
In the interview, Tsai said she did not see Premier William Lai’s (賴清德) comments in open support for Taiwanese independence at the Legislative Yuan on Tuesday last week as affecting cross-strait relations.
Lai is fully aware of the government’s overall policy goals and understands very well “what the limits are,” she said.
Regarding the nation’s military readiness, Tsai said the government would increase its defense spending gradually over the next few years to provide the armed forces with stable financial resources to support efforts to develop a plan to increase the nation’s combat capacity in the next decade.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
RSS