Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma told a press conference at the end of his one-day visit to Geneva that the KMT's stance on cross-strait relations is starkly different to that of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government, but that this did not imply that he and the KMT were "pro-Beijing."
Ma said that the KMT firmly advocates closer cross-strait exchanges and the opening of direct postal, trade and transportation links between Taiwan and China.
The policy was based on the needs of Taiwanese businesspeople operating in China and was aimed at helping these enterprises make more money and become more competitive in the world market, he said.
Ma dismissed DPP criticisms that the KMT supports unification with China, saying that while the KMT does consider "ultimate cross-strait unification" an option in its cross-strait policy, unification can only be achieved after China has evolved into a country of freedom, democracy and prosperity, and on condition that the majority of Taiwanese voters consent to it.
He added that none of these conditions for the implementation of cross-strait unification had been met, and that the KMT had no timetable in this regard.
The goal of the KMT's cross-strait policy is to achieve peace and prosperity for Taiwan, and the party would advocate maintaining the status quo while boosting bilateral exchanges and mutual understanding across the Strait, Ma said.
In response to a Hong Kong journalist, Ma said he had not been invited by Beijing to visit China and that he did not think that now was the right time to do so.
Asked about his goals and responsibilities as KMT chairman, Ma said he would see to it that the KMT wins back power in the 2008 presidential election.
He added that the KMT would have to fight an uphill battle to win the election, and that the party needed to tackle several challenges, including changing the mentality of party members, rebuilding voter confidence and dealing with controversies surrounding KMT assets.
During his visit to Geneva, Ma met Swiss officials for talks on bilateral cooperation, and he exchanged views with specialists on the World Economic Forum on a range of topics.
Ma departed Geneva for London on Thursday evening to continue his five-nation European tour, which has taken him to Italy and will also take him to Ireland and Belgium.
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