China yesterday branded President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) policies the "greatest threat to peace and stability" in the region only hours after he was inaugurated.
"Chen Shui-bian's provocative pro-independence activities form the biggest current threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits," the foreign ministry statement said.
The comments came after Chen was sworn in for a second term as president. In his speech, Chen promised to keep independence off the political agenda, but China appeared unimpressed with his conciliatory approach.
"We stick to the basic policy of `peaceful reunification' and `one country, two systems,' and are willing to strive for a peaceful solution of the Taiwan issue with the greatest sincerity and effort," the statement said.
"But we will absolutely not tolerate Taiwan's independence. That position is firm and unshakable," it said.
China also took a swipe at the US, after Washington said its harsh language on Taiwan had "no place in international civilized discourse."
"The US should not send the wrong signals to `Taiwanese independence forces,'" the statement said.
Analysts said Beijing did not trust Chen and would want to see concrete action to back his words.
"China no longer trusts him. It doesn't care what he says. What matters are his actions," said Wu Nengyuan (
"His goal for Taiwanese independence hasn't changed. This is what the Chinese government was worried about. I'm not optimistic about cross-strait relations. I expect there will be intense confrontation, a crisis coming. It depends on what Chen does. If he pushes Taiwanese independence past China's baseline, then it's dangerous," Wu said.
"He talks about building a mutually beneficial relationship with China. He talks about building mutual trust. It's a very smart declaration. It'll be difficult for China," he said.
"The Chinese side has to ac-knowledge the fact they have to deal with Chen in the next four years. There's no longer any politician in Taiwan they can rely on for reunification because there's no one that stands for reunification," Wu said.
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