As long as one accepts the “one China” principle, all other questions are open for discussion, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Yang Yi (楊毅) said of the controversial “one country, two areas (一國兩區)” proposal yesterday.
The proposal was made by former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄) on Thursday last week during a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) in Beijing.
Wu was scheduled to conclude his visit to China and return to Taipei yesterday.
He said at the time that based on the legislative and political systems in China and Taiwan, “we both insist on the concept of ‘one country,’ but we have differing definitions as to what ‘one country’ means.”
“We should agree on overlapping definitions, that China and Taiwan are territories under ‘one China,’ while accepting the differences, concentrating on the real-world situation and putting bickering aside,” Wu said.
At the start of a regular press conference yesterday, Yang listed the results of the Wu-Hu meeting, saying that an important consensuses had been reached and the direction the two sides should work toward had been clarified.
This increased mutual trust in political matters, Yang said, adding that he hoped both parties would work together to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations to benefit people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
One result of the Wu-Hu meeting was acceptance that cross-strait relations had improved dramatically over the past four years and were now at their most stable state in 60 years, Yang said.
A majority of people in Taiwan and China accept the need for peaceful cross-strait development, a policy welcomed and affirmed by the international community, he added.
Wu and Hu agreed that the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) should be “responsible to the people and to history” and seize the opportunity for improved cross-strait relations, Yang said.
Agreeing to commonalities and accepting differences would make it easier to increase mutual trust, develop beneficial interactions, strengthen cooperation and build goodwill, Yang said, adding that peaceful cross-strait relations would benefit all “Chinese.”
Wu and Hu also agreed that both parties and governments should work to enhance political trust, hold to the principles of “opposition to Taiwan independence and affirm the [so-called] ‘1992 consensus.’”
This would involve establishing a clearer international consensus that both sides of the Strait subscribe to the idea of “one China,” Yang said.
The fourth area of agreement was that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are “Chinese” and that the “Taiwanese consciousness of loving both the land and their homes is different to the pro-Taiwan independence consciousness,” Yang said.
Wu and Hu also agreed to the continued promotion of cross-strait economic and cultural interaction to the mutual benefit of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, he added.
Meanwhile, Yang said China welcomed members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to attend academic forums as academics, especially those related to Taiwanese affairs.
Yang’s comments referred to a visit by DPP spokesman Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), who attended a two-day academic forum chaired by the Taiwan Affairs Office think tank, the Research Center for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, earlier this month.
In response to questions about the regulation of cross-strait education and cultural events this year, Yang said that the Taiwan Affairs Office was looking to sign an accord with Taiwan that would establish mechanisms for cultural and educational interaction.
As to a suggestion made by academics at a conference in Taiwan at the weekend that a military trust mechanism could be introduced in stages, Yang said China welcomed academic discussion on the matter.
“We support both sides of the Strait interacting and debating military issues at an appropriate time in order to establish mechanisms to foster mutual trust in military matters,” 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
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
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
RSS