Responding to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson and presidential nominee Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) recent comment that she was willing to talk with Beijing about a framework for exchange, a Chinese official yesterday reiterated the “one China” principle, saying that cross-strait relations have never been on a nation-to-nation basis.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Yang Yi (楊毅) made the remark at a press conference in Beijing in response to a question asked by Xinhua news agency about Tsai’s recent comments.
Stating that cross-strait relations rested on the foundation that Taiwan and China belong to “one China,” Yang said that refusal to adhere to the “one China” principle and insistence on the pro-Taiwan independence stance only adds to instability in the Taiwan Strait.
“How to build a framework of lasting and long-term exchange? [That’s a question] that merits a lot of thought,” he added.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Tuesday said that “China’s history is one that is fraught with division after long periods of peace, and peace after long periods of division,” leading some observers to speculate that Ma thought the cross-strait issue would be settled by “eventual unification.”
Yang said Taiwan and China should hold to “establishing mutual trust, laying aside conflicts, putting aside differences and focusing on similarities to create a win-win scenario” to properly handle the political divergences and promote the continuation of improved relations across the Strait.
However, Yang took a hard stance regarding Ma’s call for the US sell of advanced F-16C/D aircraft to Taiwan, stating China’s position against the sale.
Yang further warned the Ma administration that Taiwan should cherish the hard-won state of affairs across the Strait and should do more to facilitate the improvement of cross-strait relations.
In response to Yang, DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said Yang’s statements was friendly toward Taiwan.
Cheng said the “framework of lasting and long-term exchange” mentioned by Tsai was one of democratic values.
In the face of Beijing’s “one China” principle, refusal to recognize Taiwanese sovereignty and large numbers of military deployments threatening Taiwan, Chen added that the DPP’s insistence on Taiwan’s democratic values falls in line with the majority of public opinion.
TRANSLATED BY JAKE CHUNG, STAFF WRITER
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai