A Chinese researcher with ties to the Chinese Communist Party yesterday slammed President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) policies, saying the president should avoid engaging in wishful thinking by seeking to strike a balance in relations between the US, China and Taiwan.
The space for Taiwan to seek benefits from all sides is getting narrower, Xu Bodong (徐博東), a consultant specializing in Taiwanese affairs at Beijing Union University, said in an article published by Xinhua news agency yesterday.
In the article, Xu said Ma had tried to balance issues both in the domestic and international arena.
Domestically, Ma has tried to work out issues between the pan-blue and pan-green camps by saying he wanted to be a “people’s president” and that internationally, Ma had tried to play a balancing game by pushing policies that are “at peace with China, friendly to Japan and close to the US.”
Such a policy of balancing relations to please all sides was not only contradictory, but “dramatically oversteps Taiwan’s own political power,” Xu said.
Xu said Taiwan’s room to maneuver would become smaller in the coming years and it would be difficult for it to continue in that direction.
From the start, Ma’s cross-strait policies have been ill-received by senior government officials in the US and Japan, Xu said.
Beijing, Xu wrote, has repeatedly tried to encourage and cooperate with Ma on his policy of rapprochement in the Taiwan Strait. Despite these measures, “there is some internal discontent and questions [in China] regarding Ma’s policies,” he said, adding that the discord could lead to dangers down the road.
On the alleged souring in Sino-US relations over the arms sale announced by US President Barack Obama last month, Xu said it also had a negative impact on cross-strait relations.
He said that in the long run, Ma’s policies of balancing relations, which he likened to a “game,” were bound to fail, adding that the Ma administration should therefore change its ways.
“Does the Ma administration really want to continue playing this game?” Xu asked.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS