Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday that Taiwan's National Unification Guidelines are similar in spirit to China's "Anti-Secession" Law in that they both assume unification to be the ultimate goal of cross-strait relations -- an assumption that violates the people's freedom of choice.
"The National Unification Guidelines are similar to certain articles of China's `Anti-Secession' Law as both advocate unification. [This] could easily confuse international society. Therefore, it is necessary to consider whether to keep the guidelines, in order to safeguard the opportunity for Taiwanese people to decide their own future," Wu said yesterday during an interview with a local TV station.
Wu also objected to recent US State Department statements that Taiwan's joining the UN under the name of "Taiwan" would constitute a unilateral change to the cross-strait status quo.
"President [George W.] Bush made freedom and democracy the most important goals of America's foreign policy in his 2004 presidential inaugural speech, and he reiterated that stance in his latest `state of the union' speech. So why would Taiwan, a free and democratic country, be seen as changing the status quo if it wants to join the UN under the name `Taiwan'?" Wu asked.
While the proposal to abolish the unification guidelines and National Unification Council is still being reviewed by the government, it is important to make the US understand that China is the one undermining the status quo through its rapid military buildup against Taiwan, Wu said.
At a separate event yesterday, Vice President Annette Lu (
"The Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] is only checking to see if the food has begun to stink after being frozen in the refrigerator for so many years," Lu said while giving a speech at a trade union gathering in Taoyuan County.
Wu also told a TV interviewer yesterday that it would be impossible to realize direct fights between China and Taiwan during his tenure as MAC chairman unless the appropriate government-to-government negotiations take place.
Wu also warned on China's destructive tactics against Taiwan, citing Chinese President Hu Jintao's (
Wu said that intelligence sources reported recently that Hu demanded that Taiwanese businessmen in Fujian Province provide new agricultural technology to China every month.
"This is basically a way to destroy Taiwan's agriculture," Wu said, adding the leak of important technology to China could threaten Taiwan's agricultural competitiveness.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
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