Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) vice presidential candidate Vincent Siew (
"I used the term `one China market' to explain the idea of a cross-strait common market. My policy concerned economic issues, but the rival camp has interpreted it from a political perspective," Siew told a press conference yesterday at campaign headquarters.
Siew made the remarks in response to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rival Frank Hsieh's (
Siew said he mentioned a "one China market" in a speech at Tamkang University in December 2005 while explaining his "cross-strait common market" or "greater China market" vision.
Siew said that his policy would prevent Taiwan from being marginalized economically by integrating the domestic economic market with China's.
"China is the reason behind Taiwan's marginalization in the international economic market. The cross-strait common market would maximize opportunities and minimize the threat," he said.
Siew used the term "one China market" during an interview with a Hong Kong magazine in 2005.
Siew said his "cross-strait common market" would involve cross-strait economic negotiations on equal terms and seek to expand the nation's economy by gradually integrating it with China's.
"My proposal would be an excellent remedy for the country's economy, but the DPP has portrayed it as a poison," he said.
Siew said the success of the EU had inspired him to draw up his policy to push for peaceful cross-strait relations through economic ties.
Siew said President Chen Shui-bian (
Siew said that if elected, he would not allow poor-quality products and agricultural products from China into the domestic market, nor open the labor market to Chinese workers.
Siew said he had promoted his vision of a "cross-strait common market" for more than seven years and would not change the name of his policy in response to controversy.
At a separate setting yesterday, the DPP legislative caucus blasted Siew's "one China market," saying that it would only strengthen China.
"They [China] have never stopped treating us like an enemy. What Ma and Siew are promoting seems to be `feeding the tiger meat,'" DPP legislative caucus whip William Lai (
Lai also criticized the comparison between the EU and the situation between Taiwan and China.
"Within the EU there are no enemies and therefore it is totally different from the relationship between Taiwan and China," Lai said.
Meanwhile, DPP Legislator Wang Sing-nan (
"If he really meant it, he would withdraw all the missiles aimed at Taiwan," Wang said.
Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
RSS