President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday acknowledged Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s (溫家寶) comment on “yielding interests” to Taiwan, but said whether he meant it would hinge on China’s “attitude” during economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) negotiations with Beijing.
Ma said Wen’s remark was a gesture of goodwill, but his fundamental principle when negotiating with Beijing was that Taiwan’s interests come first.
“It does not mean we care only about Taiwan’s interests,” he said. “Sometimes when something benefits Taiwan, it also benefits the mainland. And sometimes when something benefits Taiwan, it is not necessarily harmful to the mainland.”
PHOTO: CNA
Ma made the remarks during a question-and-answer session at a press conference in Nauru yesterday afternoon. Ma is in the South Pacific on a six-nation visit.
During the National People’s Congress last week, Wen described Taiwan as “China’s brother.” He said that China would “let the people of Taiwan benefit” from tariff concessions and early harvest programs spelled out in the ECFA. He also said that “relevant arrangements” in the trade pact would help reassure Taiwanese farmers.
Ma yesterday said that he was happy to see Beijing realize the differences between Taiwan and “the mainland,” including the economy, development, population and tariffs. It was not true equality to ask both sides to be equal in these areas because of China’s size relative to Taiwan. However, genuine equality could be attained through proportionality, he said, and would be reflected in negotiations on tariffs, intellectual property rights (IPR) and investment protection.
Ma’s administration is seeking to sign an ECFA with Beijing in May or June. Both sides have agreed to address the issue of IPR protection during upcoming talks.
Ma said he was happy to see China wants Taiwan to benefit from the trade deal but whether this would happen depended on “the mainland’s attitude,” he said.
When asked about his thoughts on Wen’s description of Taiwan as “China’s brother,” Ma said people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have the same roots, so the description “was not wrong.”
“But in Taiwan, the relationship between the government and the mainland operates under the constitution of the Republic of China,” he said. “Like I always say, the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the Chinese nation.”
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS