Saying that it was impossible for Taiwan and China to recognize each other based on their respective constitutions, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) proposed yesterday that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge what he termed "mutual non-denial."
Ma said the KMT supports the idea of each side of the Strait having its own interpretation of "one China." He said that as long as China and Taiwan could reach the status of what he termed as "mutual non-denial," they would spontaneously refer back to the so-called "1992 consensus."
"This [mutual non-denial] is the minimum requirement," Ma told reporters during a visit to Humayun's Tomb in New Delhi on the second day of his two-day trip to India.
"If we could put aside controversies through this [mutual non-denial] format, we could jointly address the more urgent and substantial issues," he said.
Ma said the idea of "mutual non-denial" could not be used to resolve the cross-strait stalemate immediately. It could be used as a first measure to change the attitudes on both sides and create more room for discussion, he said.
"The pursuit of legal independence is the pursuit of an illusion," he said.
"Those who pursue this will have big disappointment once they are disillusioned," he said.
Commenting on Ma's remarks, Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said in Taipei yesterday: "Taiwan does not deny China, it is China which is denying Taiwan's international space."
Taiwanese scientists have engineered plants that can capture about 50 percent more carbon dioxide and produce more than twice as many seeds as unmodified plants, a breakthrough they hope could one day help mitigate global warming and grow more food staples such as rice. If applied to major food crops, the new system could cut carbon emissions and raise yields “without additional equipment or labor costs,” Academia Sinica researcher and lead author the study Lu Kuan-jen (呂冠箴) said. Academia Sinica president James Liao (廖俊智) said that as humans emit 9.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with the 220 billion tonnes absorbed
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
China’s plan to deploy a new hypersonic ballistic missile at a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) base near Taiwan likely targets US airbases and ships in the western Pacific, but it would also present new threats to Taiwan, defense experts said. The New York Times — citing a US Department of Defense report from last year on China’s military power — on Monday reported in an article titled “The missiles threatening Taiwan” that China has stockpiled 3,500 missiles, 1.5 times more than four years earlier. Although it is unclear how many of those missiles were targeting Taiwan, the newspaper reported