The Chinese Foreign Ministry repeated its long-standing position yesterday that "there is only one China in the world and the mainland and Taiwan are both a part of China," as an initial response to Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) remarks on Saturday.
Chen said that there is "one country on either side" (of the Taiwan Strait) and urged the public to seriously consider referendum legislation to allow 23 million Taiwanese to decide Taiwan's future.
Chen's comments sparked an immediate media frenzy as both the domestic and international media sought to interpret the remark and wondered what China's reaction would be.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Yesterday, a spokesman from China's Foreign Affairs Ministry told AFP and Reuters reporters that China would never tolerate an independent Taiwan.
"The separation of China's sovereignty and territorial integrity will never be tolerated," the spokesman said on condition of anonymity.
He said that a more official response would be issued by the Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council.
Some analysts have speculated that Beijing is buying time needed to integrate internal opinion before making a formal reaction.
The state-run China Central Television (CCTV) and XinHua News Agency both reported that Hong Kong's pro-Beijing newspapers carried stories warning that Chen's comments risked provoking the use of force by Beijing.
The pro-Beijing Wen Wei Po stated, "an official [in Beijing] reminded Chen Shui-bian and his partners not to play with fire again, not to wager the well-being of Taiwanese people in his gamble and not to lead Taiwan to a disaster."
Another Hong-Kong based pro-Beijing newspaper, Ta Kung Pao, carried a front page story with a spokesman from China's Taiwan Affairs Council reiterating that Taiwan was part of China, and any separatist move would not work.
Meanwhile, Taiwan officials said yesterday that the administration's cross-strait policy has not changed.
Vice Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council Chen Ming-tong (
"China has never abandoned the use of force against Taiwan. It also continues to hamper Taiwan's diplomacy despite President Chen's repeated gestures of goodwill over the past two years," he said.
Chen Ming-tong stressed that the two countries can't ever replace or represent each other.
"President Chen's remarks merely reiterated this fact. The essence of Taiwan's cross-strait policy remains unchanged," he said.
In the private sector, responses were mixed.
Stanley Hsu (
"The status quo is the best solution. It is not the time for Taiwan and China talk about split or unification. Strong economic power can help promote our nation, not political status," Hsu said.
He stressed that the most important thing for the time being is boosting the nation's economy, and questioned why Chen would choose to make such bold comments now.
Hsu added that the remarks could make it more difficult for Taiwanese businesspeople to work in China.
But the president of the association's Guangdong Province branch, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he is not worried about the president's rhetoric.
"We've gotten used to [Taiwan making provocative remarks toward China]. I think it has no influence on cross-strait relations. There shouldn't be any problem," he said.
Taiwanese scientists have engineered plants that can capture about 50 percent more carbon dioxide and produce more than twice as many seeds as unmodified plants, a breakthrough they hope could one day help mitigate global warming and grow more food staples such as rice. If applied to major food crops, the new system could cut carbon emissions and raise yields “without additional equipment or labor costs,” Academia Sinica researcher and lead author the study Lu Kuan-jen (呂冠箴) said. Academia Sinica president James Liao (廖俊智) said that as humans emit 9.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with the 220 billion tonnes absorbed
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
China’s plan to deploy a new hypersonic ballistic missile at a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) base near Taiwan likely targets US airbases and ships in the western Pacific, but it would also present new threats to Taiwan, defense experts said. The New York Times — citing a US Department of Defense report from last year on China’s military power — on Monday reported in an article titled “The missiles threatening Taiwan” that China has stockpiled 3,500 missiles, 1.5 times more than four years earlier. Although it is unclear how many of those missiles were targeting Taiwan, the newspaper reported
RSS