Premier Vincent Siew, the KMT's vice presidential candidate, used the occasion of his last administrative report as premier to the legislature yesterday to boost a proposal made by Vice President and KMT presidential candidate Lien Chan (
The proposal came as part of Lien's China policy, unveiled on Thursday.
Central to the peace zone concept is the opening of direct commercial, communications and transportation links between China and the islands of Kinmen and Matsu, the so-called "little three links" (
"In the coming period, we will seek to eliminate differences of opinion between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. We hope to replace confrontation between the two sides with dialogue and interchange. At the same time, we will actively promote the establishment of a peace zone [in Kinmen and Matsu] in the Strait," Siew said.
Siew pointed out however that the proposal did not mean the relaxation of security around the islands.
"We also have to realize that before China's military threats to Taiwan are gone, Taiwan will not give up its defensive build-up efforts," Siew said.
However, the peace zone proposal got a mixed reception from the legislature.
KMT lawmaker Tsao Erh-chung (
New Party lawmaker Li Chu-feng (
"It reminds me of the bridge the government promised to build to connect Kinmen proper and Little Kinmen island years ago. Every time there was an election, the bridge plan would be brought up," Li said. "Eight years have passed now. The bridge exists only people's talk."
Siew also said that while the government's "go slow, be patient" stance on cross-strait investment is the current policy, it is by no means unchangeable.
He added that if cross-strait relations are markedly improved, and the rights of Taiwan businessmen duly protected, the policy could be adjusted.
Siew noted several successes of his Cabinet including the nation's emerging unscathed from the regional financial storm and weathering the 921 earthquake last year.
He also said that the government will push for a new wave of reforms and try to root out "black gold" politics, adding that substantive measures in this regard include the promulgation of the law regarding disclosure of the assets of civil servants, and the government procurement law.
The government would also work on the Political Party Law, the Law Governing Political Donations and the Lobbying Law, Siew said.
Siew was initially scheduled to talk yesterday about the purchase of Patriot PAC-III missile systems from the US and deployment of them in central and southern Taiwan.
However, sources said that the content about missiles was removed from Siew's speech for fear that premature exposure of the deployment plan might encourage China to lodge protests with the US leading to possible cancellation of the deal.
US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott concluded two days of talks in Beijing yesterday in which he had what he described as "intense" discussions with Chinese officials relating to Taiwan's security concerns.
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
POWER PLANT POLL: The TPP said the number of ‘yes’ votes showed that the energy policy should be corrected, and the KMT said the result was a win for the people’s voice The government does not rule out advanced nuclear energy generation if it meets the government’s three prerequisites, President William Lai (賴清德) said last night after the number of votes in favor of restarting a nuclear power plant outnumbered the “no” votes in a referendum yesterday. The referendum failed to pass, despite getting more “yes” votes, as the Referendum Act (公民投票法) states that the vote would only pass if the votes in favor account for more than one-fourth of the total number of eligible voters and outnumber the opposing votes. Yesterday’s referendum question was: “Do you agree that the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant
ENHANCED SECURITY: A Japanese report said that the MOU is about the sharing of information on foreign nationals entering Japan from Taiwan in the event of an emergency The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday confirmed that Taiwan and Japan had signed an agreement to promote information exchanges and cooperation on border management, although it did not disclose more details on the pact. Ministry spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said the ministry is happy to see that the two nations continue to enhance cooperation on immigration control, in particular because Taiwan and Japan “share a deep friendship and frequent people-to-people exchanges.” “Last year, more than 7.32 million visits were made between the two countries, making it even more crucial for both sides to work closer on immigration and border control,” he said. Hsiao
RSS