Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) yesterday pledged to continue cross-strait negotiations under the principle of the so-called “1992 consensus” as he was re-elected to serve another three-year term.
Chiang, re-elected by the foundation’s new board of directors, promoted the government’s efforts in resuming cross-strait talks since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office three years ago and said Taiwan and China would continue to work together and seek peace across the Taiwan Strait.
“I had called for the resumption of cross-strait negotiations and the long-term development of peaceful cross-strait relations when I first took over as chairman in 2008 and now I can proudly say we have made great achievements in cross-strait ties,” Chiang said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Since 2008, the foundation and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits have conducted seven rounds of negotiations and signed 16 agreements, including the -Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement signed last year.
Chiang yesterday said the “1992 consensus,” which refers to what the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) says is a mutual understanding between the two sides of the Strait that there is only one China, with each side free to interpret what that means, has improved cross-strait relations in recent years and would continue to serve as a solid foundation for future cross-strait talks.
Former National Security Council secretary-general Su Chi (蘇起), who came up with the term “1992 consensus” when he served as Mainland Affairs Council minister in 2000, was appointed as a board member yesterday, sparking speculation about his role in leading political negotiations between Taiwan and China in the future.
Su yesterday dismissed the speculation as sheer assumption, saying that he took the position to assist the foundation with related affairs as a scholar.
“It’s over-speculation … My role in the SEF is very simple, and I don’t have any special missions. I think people are over-interpreting the position,” he said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
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