Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) yesterday tried to put to rest a controversy sparked by a joint statement issued after talks between US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) on Tuesday.
Lai said that although Taipei and Beijing have differing interpretations of what territorial sovereignty means, they have agreed to put aside their differences for the moment.
Lai said the Hu and Obama’s joint statement and the press conference that followed their talks showed that Washington’s cross-strait policy “had not changed much.”
She said Washington emphasized the three US-China joint communiques and Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which she said was part of the US’ long-term policies.
While Obama did not clearly distinguish Taiwan from China during the press conference, Lai said China and Taiwan have always had different ideological interpretations on sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“That’s why we have differences,” she said. “We cannot resolve them now, so we put them aside and engage in practical negotiations to address more pressing problems. That is the consensus both sides have come to.”
Lai said Washington has on various occasions, both public and private, expressed approval of the cross-strait detente as it serves the interests of Taiwan, China and the region as well as the US.
“We are happy to see the US government recognize our efforts over the past 18 months,” she said.
In the joint statement released on Tuesday, Obama and Hu stressed the importance of the Taiwan issue in US-China relations.
Beijing said the Taiwan issue concerned China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It said it hoped the US would honor its commitments and appreciate and support China’s position on the matter.
The US said that it followed a “one China” policy and abided by the principles of the three US-China joint communiques. The US said it welcomed the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait and looked forward to efforts by both sides to increase dialogue and interactions in economic, political and other fields, as well as develop more positive and stable cross-strait relations.
The two countries said that the fundamental principle of respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity were at the core of the three communiques that guide US-China relations, and that neither side supported any attempts to undermine this principle by force.
The two sides also agreed that respecting each other’s core interests was important to ensure steady progress in US-China relations.
While the statement did not mention the TRA, Obama mentioned it at a press conference on Tuesday.
Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said the joint statement raised a “serious alarm,” adding that Beijing seemed have successfully lured Washington to its side.
She said it was a warning signal that the TRA was not mentioned in the joint statement.
Lu also criticized President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for expressing approval of Obama’s remarks at the press conference.
Lu made the remarks in Hsinchu yesterday while stumping for Democratic Progressive Party candidates ahead of next month’s local elections.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS