Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) will ask Chinese authorities during his visit to China to remove missiles aimed at Taiwan, a KMT lawmaker said yesterday in Hong Kong.
Legislator Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), who is also a member of the KMT's Central Standing Committee, made the remarks after attending a forum on cross-strait relations.
To the best of his understanding, Wu said Lien would bring up four main topics during his trip.
First, Wu said, Lien will ask Chinese authorities to eliminate barriers to cross-strait cultural and commercial exchanges, such as exempting or reducing tariffs on agricultural and industrial imports from Taiwan.
Second, Wu said, Lien will urge Beijing not to block Taiwan's entry to the World Health Organization (WHO).
"For the sake of epidemic prevention, Taiwan must be included in the WHO-led global health care system. If China continues to block Taiwan's WHO bid, it will draw a backlash from the Taiwan people and hinder the development of cross-strait rapprochement," Wu said.
Third, Wu said, Lien will push China to relocate the hundreds of ballistic missiles deployed in Fujian Province that are targeting Taiwan.
"If China indeed wants to make peace with Taiwan, it should relocate or dismantle its missiles aimed at Taiwan. Otherwise, the people of Taiwan will have ill feelings and doubts about Beijing's sincerity," Wu said.
Lien will ask the Chinese authorities to allow Chinese citizens to make sightseeing trips to Taiwan to promote civilian exchanges and mutual understanding, Wu said.
He said the KMT is willing to do whatever is conducive to Taiwanese people's well-being and cross-strait peace.
Wu delivered a speech on new developments in cross-strait relations at the seminar, sponsored by a federation of Taiwanese business associations in the Asia-Pacific region.
Addressing hundreds of Hong Kong academics, experts and business executives at the seminar, Wu said Hong Kong should strengthen exchanges with Taiwan to maintain its pivotal role in cross-strait engagements.
Wu said he believes that Taiwan, Hong Kong and Shanghai can strengthen cooperation in transshipment, trade, industrial investment and tourist development.
Meanwhile, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma said that he strongly believes that Lien will not sign any peace agreements with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Hu Jintao (
Stressing that Lien's visit is aimed at maintaining peace, Ma said that Lien will speak for the people of Taiwan while seeking to help lay a foundation for cross-strait peace.
Lien's visit, planned for early next month, will mark the first KMT-CCP contact in more than 60 years. He is slated to meet Hu in Beijing, in addition to making stops in Nanjing, Xi'an and Shanghai.
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