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.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
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