Amid a recent rush by lawmakers to visit China to conduct so-called "track-two" communications, the New Party caucus at the Legislative Yuan yesterday announced that it is sending a delegation to China on July 9 to exchange views with Beijing officials on political issues.
New Party caucus convener Elmer Fung (
"We hope to conduct direct dialogue [with Beijing] on how both sides of the Taiwan Strait can reach reconciliation and seek a resolution that is acceptable to both sides," Fung said.
Fung said the delegation will arrive in Beijing on July 9, proceed to Shanghai on July 12 and return to Taiwan on July 14. However, Fung said that under an agreement reached with Beijing the details of the itinerary will be kept secret until the delegates arrive, but revealed that they will "meet with people whom they should meet."
In addition to the pro-unification New Party, known for its close contacts with China, a number of lawmakers from other political parties are also planning to lead delegations to China. They include members of two KMT subgroups, the Taiwan Unified Alliance (台聯會) and the Generation-E Alliance (e世代問政聯盟). Even politicians from the Mainstream Alliance (主流聯盟), a subgroup consisting of major DPP factions, are arranging a trip to China.
Legislators from the People First Party also plan to visit China. Chen Horng-chi (
"In the past most Taiwanese delegations [visiting China] were pro-unification hardliners, and thus the true voice of the Taiwanese people was not really heard," Chen said.
Chen said Taiwan needs to keep a channel of communication open through these representatives while official dialogue remains suspended.
"Otherwise, cross-strait misunderstanding and hatred will deepen," Chen said. "Hopefully such contacts will build up an atmosphere of peace to pave the way for the restoration of cross-strait talks."
DPP legislator Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), who is arranging the Mainstream Alliance's visit to China, said the group hopes to meet with Beijing officials during the trip, but it has not yet obtained an invitation from China.
"If the issues we plan to talk about are too sensitive, there will be a lot of uncertainties involved," Cho said.
Just as establishing contacts with China is becoming a trend among legislators, some members of the DPP are hesitant about the move.
DPP legislator Wong Chin-chu (
Chen said such worries were unnecessary, because the visits are not intended to replace the role of the government.
"In any case, if there are any proposals coming out of these trips the administrative branch still has the final say upon whether to accept it," Chen said.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS