Saying that barking dogs won't bite, former President Lee Teng-hui (
Lee responded to the statement issued by China's Taiwan Affairs Office just days before President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) is to be sworn in for a new four-year term.
In response to reporters' questions about what Taiwan's proper response should be to China's threat, Lee said: " Just keep quiet."
"Do you mean to ignore China's words?" one reporter asked.
"Just be quiet. Even if President Chen intends to respond, he should study the statement quietly," Lee said.
Presidential Office Spokesman James Huang (
Taiwan's leaders must choose between recognizing their country as part of China or "following their separatist agenda to cut Taiwan from the rest of China and, in the end, meet their own destruction by playing with fire," the Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council said in the statement.
The Presidential Office said yesterday that Chen will formally respond to Beijing's statement in his inauguration speech on Thursday.
A senior presidential office official familiar with cross-strait affairs, speaking on condition of anonymity, said yesterday the government will continue pursuing peace with China, but warned that cross-strait tensions could spin out of control due to China's military buildup.
The official pledged to work on practical cross-strait policies leading to peace.
The official, who is a key channel in Chen's communication with the US, said that although Taiwan, the US and China have different views about cross-strait affairs, the statement issued early yesterday morning placed considerable emphasis on settling disputes by peaceful means.
According to China's statement, resolving the issue peacefully was "the most pressing task" for both sides. The statement nevertheless lashed out at Chen for violating his "five noes" promises, "mustering all separatist forces to drive for Taiwan's independence" and bringing cross-strait relations "to the brink of danger."
China "will never tolerate Taiwan's independence" and insists dialogue is possible only if Taiwan accepts the "one China" principle, according to the statement.
The "one China" principle is a "central and tricky" issue, the presidential office official said.
"Taiwan and China have never been able to achieve consensus on this issue, chiefly because China cannot accept our status quo. It is very difficult to find a solution to this problem," the official said.
Solving the dilemma might take years, "but it does not mean all cross-strait affairs will have to stay where they are before the solution is hammered out," he said.
Taiwan and China should try to establish a framework for interaction in the interim period until a solution is found. However, the escalation of China's military power will make it increasingly difficult for both sides to keep interactions under control, the official said.
A lawmaker expected to join the government's decision-making body on cross-strait affairs, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said inventing "creatively ambiguous" definitions of the "one China" principle could help smooth out hurdles created by Beijing's Taiwan policy.
The Taiwan Affairs Office statement contains seven guidelines regarding cross-strait interactions, which local reporters labelled Chinese President Hu Jiantao's (胡錦濤) "seven points," as opposed to former Chinese president Jiang Zemin's (江澤民) declaration of "Jiang's eight points" on Taiwan nine years ago.
"If you look closely at the opening paragraphs of the Taiwan Affairs Office statement, you find it places more emphasis on curbing Taiwan's independence than on pushing for unification with China," the lawmaker said.
The seven guidelines will immediately come into effect if Taiwan would accept the "one China" principle, said the statement.
The first and second guideline call for both sides to reopen dialogue, end mutual hostility, establish a military cooperation mechanism and build a peace and stability framework.
According to the anonymous lawmaker, these points correspond to the two questions posed in Taiwan's first national referendum on March 20.
"Compared with `Jiang's eight points,' Hu's guidelines show more flexibility and pragmatism. The last guideline even mentions Beijing's intention to help Taiwan obtain the proper international space by allowing it to join international organizations," the lawmaker said.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday made no official comment in response to Beijing's announcement.
Meanwhile, incoming MAC Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), who is currently deputy director-general of the Presidential Office, and Vice Chairman Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), a Democratic Progressive Party legislator, held a tea party for reporters to share their thoughts about challenges posed by their new posts.
Both refuted the Chinese media's claims that they were separatists.
In response to a question whether he was in favor of Taiwanese independence, Wu stressed that he is a "very pragmatic" man.
Chiu said trade should be one of the council's main priorities.
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
CPBL players, cheerleaders and officials pose at a news conference in Taipei yesterday announcing the upcoming All-Star Game. This year’s CPBL All-Star Weekend is to be held at the Taipei Dome on July 19 and 20.
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree. The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election. Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984. He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
RSS