A pan-green majority in the legislature will be conducive to improved cross-strait ties and bring about political stability, Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (
"If the pan-green camp manages to secure a majority in the Legislative Yuan, China will have to divest itself of the illusion that the pan-blue camp will return to power. China would then be more willing to sit down with the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] and the pan-green camp," Wu said yesterday during an international press conference.
Wu went on to demonstrate that despite concerns that political moves instigated by the ruling DPP would threaten cross-strait ties, President Chen Shui-bian (
"In 2000, when Chen was elected president, everyone was afraid that war and a formal declaration of independence was imminent ? But that hasn't happened," Wu said.
"Our overall policy is one of goodwill, active cooperation, and lasting peace. You can't go wrong with this," Wu said.
In an attempt to assuage fears that the push for a pan-green majority and Chen's proposal for constitutional reform would destabilize cross-strait relations, Wu said the moves were part of the nation's democratization.
"Taiwan is a new democracy and there are many lingering issues left behind by past authorities," Wu said, adding that the national emblem closely resembles that of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and that the national anthem was the KMT's anthem.
"Our pursuit of democratization has nothing to do with changing the status quo in the Taiwan Strait," Wu said.
Wu said that the chance for negotiations and constitutional reform were not mutually exclusive.
"But we will explain the process so as to minimize the impact," he said of constitutional reform.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
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