Speculation that China could withdraw the missiles targeting Taiwan in the second half of next year to pave the way for political negotiations drew a mixed reaction among legislators yesterday.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), a member of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee, dismissed the possibility of political negotiations with China in the near future and accused former Taiwanese representative to the US Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) of fueling speculation that the KMT has secret political agreements with Beijing ahead of the presidential election in 2012.
Responding to reporters’ questions after a conference in Los Angeles on Sunday, Wu said Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), who will hand over the presidency to his successor in 2013, could do his best to pressure Taiwan into beginning political negotiations with China.
However, it was unlikely Taiwan would accept the proposal, the former envoy said, as President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has on several occasions said he would not pursue political talks with Beijing during his term in office, while Taiwanese have yet to reach a consensus on the matter.
To compel Taiwan to accept talks, he said, China could remove the missiles to create a false impression of cross-strait peace so the KMT government would agree to negotiating a peace agreement.
If this happened, he said, it would likely occur in the second half of next year.
Lin said the KMT would not proceed with political talks with Beijing for the time being because Taiwanese remained widely divided on the issue. Instead it would only seek to stabilize cross-strait relations through cultural and academic exchanges and economic cooperation.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇), head of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee, said it was impossible for the government to accept any proposed political negotiation because “the time is not ripe” for the two sides to talk about political issues.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said he believed Joseph Wu’s comments were based on sound logical reasoning, but failed to take into account Beijing’s tendency to hand out wild cards.
Using China’s currency stance as an example, Huang said Beijing did not allow its currency to float on the open market despite sustained pressure from its trading partners.
“They were quite firm in their approach ... and it shows that while Hu might come under some pressure before his term is up, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he will remove the missiles,” Huang said.
While the missiles are a key point of contention, DPP Legislator Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) said a far more important issue was whether Beijing would agree to renounce the use of force against Taiwan.
Taiwanese politicians should refrain from falling for Beijing’s bait and treating the removal of the missiles as a step forward in cross-strait relations, he said, adding that “a promise to never use force against Taiwan is the only right direction.”
However, even if the missiles were relocated, Huang said it would most likely take place in 2012 rather than next year as Wu said, to coincide with Ma’s re-election bid.
“This way, everybody gets a Nobel Prize,” Huang said.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese