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 brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
IN FULL SWING: Recall drives against lawmakers in Hualien, Taoyuan and Hsinchu have reached the second-stage threshold, the campaigners said Campaigners in a recall petition against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) in Taichung yesterday said their signature target is within sight, and that they need a big push to collect about 500 more signatures from locals to reach the second-stage threshold. Recall campaigns against KMT lawmakers Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) and Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋) are also close to the 10 percent threshold, and campaigners are mounting a final push this week. They need about 800 signatures against Chiang and about 2,000 against Yang. Campaigners seeking to recall Lo said they had reached the threshold figure over the
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