President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) vowed yesterday to continue improving cross-strait relations and said that “concrete results” are expected on opening direct cargo flights and shipping links with China in a few months.
“As Taiwan steadily improves its relations with China ... I believe that in the next few months there will be concrete results from these efforts,” Ma said while meeting John Hambre, the president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, at the Presidential Office.
Ma said the country would continue cross-strait negotiations with China regarding various issues including Taiwan’s international participation, but added that the government would put Taiwanese interests and dignity as priorities while proceeding with the negotiations.
“Although the opposition party has been criticizing us [for improving relations with China], so far the government never damaged Taiwan’s dignity,” he said. “Instead, we got more friends than we had before.”
Taiwanese officials have said the two sides were scheduled to hold a second round of talks in Taipei later this month or early next month, and that China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin’s (陳雲林) was scheduled to attend, although the date has not been set yet.
The Democratic Progressive Party, a fierce critic of Ma’s China policy, has vowed to stage mass rallies should Chen set foot in Taiwan.
Ma yesterday said cross-strait relations are improving slowly but steadily under his administration, and the government would continue such efforts.
At the same setting, he also reiterated his appreciation for the US government’s approval of nearly US$6.5 billion in arms sales to Taiwan earlier this month.
The administration of US President George W Bush notified the US Congress last week about the sale of six major packages of weaponry to Taiwan, ending the nearly year-long freeze on arms sales to Taiwan.
“The approval not only represents the US’ support for our policy of improving cross-strait ties while still maintaining proper security relations with the US. It also represents the US’ willingness to gradually rebuild mutual trust that has seriously deteriorated over the past eight years,” Ma said, promising to defend the country’s sovereignty and security while rebuilding trust between Taiwan and the US.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard