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.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
Speeding and badly maintained roads were the main causes of a school bus accident on a rainy day in Taipei last year that severely injured two people and left 22 with minor injuries, the Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board said. On March 11 last year, a Kang Chiao International School bus overturned inside the Wenshan Tunnel (文山隧道) on the northbound lane of the Xinyi Expressway. The tour bus, owned by Long Lai Co, exceeded the speed limit after entering the tunnel, the board’s investigation found. Sensing that the rear of the vehicle was swaying, the driver attempted to use the service and exhaust
Central and southern Taiwan are to see increasingly heavy rainfall from last night through Friday due to the effects of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said Tropical Storm Co-May had weakened into a low-pressure system on Saturday, but that it strengthened again into a tropical depression (TD 11) near the seas around Japan's Ryukyu Islands due to favorable environmental conditions. The tropical depression is expected to persist for two to three days, moving west-northwest by this afternoon and reaching China's Zhejiang through the East China Sea tomorrow,
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