President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday heaped scorn on a claim by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) that he would seek unification with China if re-elected, focusing on his efforts to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty and national dignity.
In an interview with the Broadcasting Corp of China, Ma challenged Tsai to back up her accusation with evidence, urging her not to irresponsibly incite social and political confrontation with baseless accusations.
“Does she have any evidence to show that I stand for ultimate unification?” he asked. “I want Chairperson Tsai to tell me, which of the 16 cross-strait agreements we signed has sacrificed our sovereignty? The nation’s sovereignty remains intact.”
Ma made the comments in response to Tsai’s criticism of his cross-strait policy on Friday night during a policy platform presentation, when she said that if Ma was re-elected, “our generation could very possibly face the question of ultimate unification.”
Citing the government’s achievement in attending the World Health Assembly (WHA) as a member country and enhancing economic cooperation with many countries, Ma slammed Tsai and the DPP saying they blamed the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for such international participation, even though they failed to achieve a similar international profile for Taiwan when the DPP was in power.
“Taiwan is able to move forward and enhance international participation, including our attendance of the WHA. Did that not promote Taiwan’s sovereignty?” he said. “The KMT has achieved things that the DPP was simply unable to in the past, and we did so without damaging sovereignty and Taiwan’s dignity.”
Ma said that the so-called “1992 consensus,” which refers to a consensus with Beijing on the concept of “one China,” but with each side having its own interpretation, is designed to help the two sides of the Taiwan Strait put aside political differences and focus on cross-strait exchange.
He again pointedly questioned Tsai on her earlier comments that the Republic of China (ROC) is a government-in-exile.
“She has said that the ROC is a government-in-exile, and now she is running for the ROC presidency. Would that not make her a president-in-exile if she is elected?” he asked.
Ma won a decisive victory in the 2008 presidential election. However, his support has declined since taking office, and many opinion polls have put the two candidates neck-and-neck
When asked to comment on public indifference over the government’s performance, Ma dismissed criticism of his preference for quoting statistics when promoting government policies, insisting that such figures best reflected the government’s achievement in various fields.
“The DPP did very little when it was in power and so the party does its best to avoid talking about statistics,” Ma said.
“It tries to appeal to voters with stories, but the problem is that once the stories have been told, what’s left? Can they govern the nation with nothing but feelings?” he asked.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard