The meeting between the US President George W. Bush and the Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) at the White House on Thursday turned into a farce after interruptions and missteps marred what was supposed to be a well-orchestrated diplomatic ceremony, political observers said yesterday.
"It was a ridiculous and embarrassing situation for Hu. Beijing's hopes that Bush would strongly censure Taiwan during the meeting were totally shattered," said Cao Changqing (
Cao, who has been banned from returning to China, made the comments at a press conference held by the pro-independence Taiwan Advocates think tank to comment on the just-concluded Bush-Hu meeting and its implications for US-China-Taiwan relations.
Cao said the meeting was "entertaining and educational" as Hu was challenged by protestors, took sharp questions from reporters about democracy in China and faced Bush's unwillingness to make any adverse comments about Taiwan independence.
"The two leaders spoke about totally different things. Bush wanted the trade deficit and human rights issues in China to be discussed and had a soft touch on the Taiwan issue, while Hu only cared about denouncing Taiwan independence," Cao said.
Hu Ping (
Hu Ping noted that Hu Jintao sent a message to the US government that China was able to influence major US capitalists, after he met with Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and Boeing executives in Seattle and promised to buy more than 2,000 Boeing airplanes.
"The way that China challenges American capitalism made the US government take countermeasures to communicate its displeasure to China," Hu said.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
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Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
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