Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday that as neither unification with China nor independence are likely in the near future, Taiwan needs a "new" paradigm -- maintaining the status quo.
In an article entitled "Taiwan's Pragmatic Path" published in the Asian Wall Street Journal, Ma fleshed out the KMT's stance on the unification-independence controversy and the long-stalled arms procurement bill.
"The KMT believes that neither unification nor independence is likely for Taiwan in the foreseeable future and that therefore the status quo should be maintained. The island's [sic] future should be determined by its people, rather than the government," he wrote.
Ma criticized President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) recent Lunar New Year's Day message, in which Chen advocated abolishing the unification guidelines and pushing for another round of constitutional amendments. Ma said that Taiwan should not "rock the boat in regional waters."
"We should instead seek to advance the security and stability of the area," he said. "Taiwan, while it seeks to defuse tensions across the Taiwan Strait, should also demonstrate its determination to protect itself by maintaining adequate defensive capabilities."
In regard to the arms procurement bill, Ma called on all parties to refrain from making politically charged accusations.
"We should deal with it by weighing up four factors -- cross-strait relations, Taiwan's defensive needs, its financial capability and public opinion," he said.
In conclusion, Ma said that as opportunity and challenges exist side by side, the voyage ahead for Taiwan would be smoother and swifter with more "democracy, openness and pragmatism."
Earlier yesterday, Ma said that the KMT would not pass the arms procurement budget in April, and that after his party's version of the bill is released sometime later this month or in March, the KMT would start negotiations with other parties in the pan-blue alliance before holding discussions with the Democratic Progressive Party.
Asked to comment on his article, Ma said it had been aimed at promoting KMT policies.
"The KMT has insisted on a middle-of-the-road cross-strait policy, and I am hoping that the policy can be understood more internationally," he said after presiding over a Taipei municipal meeting.
Ma is expected to continue promoting the KMT's stance on cross-strait affairs during a 13-day trip to five European countries. Ma left Taiwan late last night to start his trip, which will see him visit Italy, Switzerland, the UK, Ireland and Belgium. He is scheduled to deliver a lecture on cross-strait relations at the London School of Economics on Monday.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS