The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said on Monday its newly formed think tank had an “open-minded” attitude toward invitations for dialogue from Chinese institutes or organizations.
The think tank — affliated with the New Frontier Foundation — would not rule out sending representatives to China for such dialogue, said its chief executive, Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁), at a meeting with diplomats and representatives of more than 20 countries stationed in Taiwan that was also attended by DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
The DPP said most of the diplomats were interested in whether the think tank would interact with China.
Wu said that in recent months, the DPP had hosted visits to Taiwan by a number of Chinese academics and think tank representatives, implying that the party has not rejected contacts with China.
Tsai told the meeting that the think tank was not an academic institution, but was established to help the party outline efficient and pragmatic policies. An even more important task was to “prepare for the DPP’s reclaiming of power in 2012,” she said.
The DPP hoped there would be many more people joining discussions — through the think tank — on its plan to draft a “10-year platform,” she said.
At the Feb. 23 launch of the think tank, Tsai said it was aimed at strengthening Taiwan’s diplomatic muscle by bolstering relations with Japan, the US and Europe, while fostering closer links with Beijing.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all