A People First Party (PFP) lawmaker yesterday quoted a Chinese official as saying that relations between Taiwan and China were on an even footing for the time being.
PFP lawmaker and former speaker of the Legislative Yuan Liu Sung-fan (
"The official's remarks indicate that relations across the Taiwan Strait will remain stable, at least for now," Liu said.
But Liu, who has been leading a group of lawmakers from the opposition party on a visit to China, said Chen didn't say specifically how long the current calm in cross-strait relations would remain.
Liu said many in China are concerned about cross-strait relations after Taiwan made its first democratic transition of power by electing a DPP president.
Liu said he had asked the official whether there would be any change in Beijing's policy toward Taiwan following the mainland leadership's recent policy review meeting in Beidaihe.
"The official just said the two sides of the Taiwan Strait will have a period of quietness, but he didn't elaborate on the meaning of quietness," Liu said.
The PFP group briefed the press yesterday in Shanghai on the results of its mainland visit. Liu said the group had met with senior mainland officials in Beijing to discuss cross-strait problems and difficulties faced by Taiwan investors in China.
"No matter what officials have said about cross-strait relations, my observation is that China wants an early opening for direct cross-strait trade, shipping, mail and transportation links," Liu said.
Moreover, Liu said, China still welcomes Taiwan investments on the mainland. "Although our government adopts a `no haste, be patient' policy to discourage our businessmen from starting new cross-strait investment projects, mainland authorities will continue their efforts to attract Taiwan capital," he said.
After extensive talks with Taiwan businessmen based in China, Liu said most of them hope to see an early resumption of cross-strait dialogue to resolve many practical issues.
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
The High Court yesterday found a New Taipei City woman guilty of charges related to helping Beijing secure surrender agreements from military service members. Lee Huei-hsin (李慧馨) was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), making illegal compacts with government employees and bribery, the court said. The verdict is final. Lee, the manager of a temple in the city’s Lujhou District (蘆洲), was accused of arranging for eight service members to make surrender pledges to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in exchange for money, the court said. The pledges, which required them to provide identification
INDO-PACIFIC REGION: Royal Navy ships exercise the right of freedom of navigation, including in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the UK’s Tony Radakin told a summit Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region is as important as it is in the English Channel, British Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said at a summit in Singapore on Saturday. The remark came as the British Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, is on an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region as head of an international carrier strike group. “Upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with it, the principles of the freedom of navigation, in this part of the world matters to us just as it matters in the
RSS