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."
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
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