Cross-strait exchanges have to be processed based on the principles of sovereignty, democracy, peace and equality, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday.
Chen made the remarks when meeting representatives of the Atlantic Council of the United States at the Presidential Office. He also said that Taiwan had shown friendliness whenever they have tried to engage with China, but the task remained extremely challenging at present.
"Don't forget that one of the conclusions reached earlier this year during my meeting with James Soong (
Chen said yesterday that in May, before Soong set out for China, he had reminded him that the principles of sovereignty, democracy, peace and equality must be upheld. However, it was sad that Soong only mentioned the ROC briefly because of pressure he from Beijing while he was in China.
Chen said it would be a very bad situation if Beijing only communicated with Taiwan's oppos-ition parties.
"We have our own government. Our authority should not be un-dermined by anybody," Chen said.
Yesterday was the first time the president has talked about cross-strait issues since the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) punishing defeat in the Dec. 3 local elections.
Following the DPP's loss in last year's legislative elections, his meeting with Soong in February and the 10-point consensus that they agreed upon drew much ire from pro-independence supporters.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on