A top adviser to President Chen Shui-bian (
"President Chen was a little frustrated," Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh (
PHOTO: REUTERS
Chen said on Aug. 3 that the ability of Taiwan's 23 million to decide their future was a "basic human right" and there was "one country on each side" of the Taiwan Strait.
China reacted furiously to Chen's remarks, warning that he was leading Taiwan to "disaster." Beijing has threatened to attack if the country formally declares independence or drags its feet on unification talks.
Analysts said Chen was frustrated by China's diplomatic bullying, military build-up and refusal to deal with him.
Lee said he believes the two sides will mend fences.
"President Chen has goodwill to try to improve relations," said the co-winner of the Nobel prize in chemistry in 1986 and president of Academia Sinica, the nation's top academic institution.
"The people between Taiwan and China also have tremendous amount of goodwill toward each other," Lee said of civilian exchanges between the two sides that have boomed since detente began in the late 1980s.
"Once we have the way to communicate and try to understand each other, things will improve. I am not that pessimistic," he said without elaborating.
Chen has mellowed his pro-independence stance but a suspicious Beijing had largely ignored him.
Chinese experts on Taiwan policy say China's leaders are now debating whether they can deal with Chen at all after his boldest comments since 2000.
Chen said on Sunday that Taiwan would not be intimidated by China, but stopped short of repeating his controversial comments.
The premier said last week the government would proceed with referendum legislation only as a last resort.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS