The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday Taiwan and China should exchange special envoys serving as both sides' official communication channels now that the presidential election is over.
The exchange of envoys, first put forth by President Chen Shui-bian (
Jan Jyh-horng (
The envoys could also reduce the chance of conflict.
MAC Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (
Jan, in a speech to council officials yesterday, urged Beijing to learn more about Taiwan's ever-evolving democracy.
Only through dialogue and communication with Taipei can Beijing really understand what is happening in Taiwan, he said.
The spirit of Chen's "five noes" pledge, which included a promise not to declare independence during his term, is to maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, Jan said.
He said he was not sure whether Chen would repeat the "five noes" pledge in his second term. However, he noted the government's cross-strait policies would not change much because of Chen's "campaign language."
Optimistic about the development of cross-strait relations, Jan said government policies are unlikely to change because of the president's personal remarks.
The council's team working on the "peace and stability framework" had designed the proposal in order to maintain the status quo, he said.
Jan noted that although Bei-jing has kept a low profile regarding this year's election, it has blasted Taiwan's referendum as a tool to achieve independence.
Jan said China's media harshly criticized Chen during the presidential campaign to satisfy Beijing's desire to brand the president as a separatist.
"It is a system of education to fool its people," he said.
In the past, China did not allow other countries to get involved in cross-strait affairs. But this year it actively lobbied the international community to pressure Taiwan over the referendum issue, he said.
Taiwan faced "unprecedented diplomatic pressure" because of China's strategy to get other countries to speak against the referendum, Jan said.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
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China has reserved offshore airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts that are usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Sunday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. The alerts, known as notice to air missions (NOTAMs), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert
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