President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is expected to meet former foreign ministers today to go over his foreign policy of “modus vivendi” and “diplomatic truce” with Beijing, Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yi-chi (王郁琦) said yesterday.
Ma is to give a detailed overview of his policies over two meetings, Wang said.
A “modus vivendi” with China was one of the major foreign policy initiatives Ma promoted during the election campaign. He had pledged to adopt “flexible diplomacy” to end the country’s diplomatic isolation, to launch pragmatic negotiations with Beijing and to not oppose allies developing relations with Beijing unless Taiwan’s interests were threatened.
Following his victory in the March presidential election, Ma also proposed that Taiwan should seek a “diplomatic truce” with China by improving cross-strait relations and putting an end to the animosity across the Taiwan Strait.
Ma is scheduled to host a dinner in honor of Foreign Minister Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) and former ministers including Jason Hu (胡志強), Frederick Fu (錢復), Lien Chan (連戰), Ting Mao-shih (丁懋時), Chen Chien-jen (程建人) and Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂) at the Taipei Guest House tonight.
Wang said yesterday that recent developments in cross-strait relations — including opening up cross-strait weekend charter flights and allowing more Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan, as well as Beijing’s decision to refer to the Taiwanese Olympic team as Zhonghua Taibei (中華台北, Chinese Taipei) rather than Zhongguo Taibei (中國台北, Taipei, China) — reflected the Ma administration’s efforts to find a “modus vivendi” with the international community.
Ma will use the occasion to compare his foreign policies with the “scorched-earth diplomacy” of the Democratic Progressive Party administration and promote his “flexible diplomacy” to the international community, Wang said.
At a separate setting yesterday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said that Ma was expected to visit the ministry tomorrow to expand on his idea of a “diplomatic truce” as well as offer encouragement to ministry personnel.
“President Ma will visit the ministry for about one hour to give his instructions and vision for Taiwan’s diplomatic efforts,” Chen said.
Ma, accompanied by Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄), visited the Mainland Affairs Council on Tuesday.
Ou is scheduled to give a short briefing before Ma makes his comments. Ou, a former representative to Spain and ambassador to Guatemala, will accompany Ma on his trip to Paraguay and the Dominican Republic from Aug. 12 to Aug. 19.
Additional reporting by Jenny W. Hsu
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
88.2 PERCENT INCREASE: The variants driving the current outbreak are not causing more severe symptoms, but are ‘more contagious’ than previous variants, an expert said Number of COVID-19 cases in the nation is surging, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) describing the ongoing wave of infections as “rapid and intense,” and projecting that the outbreak would continue through the end of July. A total of 19,097 outpatient and emergency visits related to COVID-19 were reported from May 11 to Saturday last week, an 88.2 percent increase from the previous week’s 10,149 visits, CDC data showed. The nearly 90 percent surge in case numbers also marks the sixth consecutive weekly increase, although the total remains below the 23,778 recorded during the same period last year,
RSS