Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday that people should not read too much into the visit to China by former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), nor view it as having considerable political significance.
The focus should be on “mutual understanding through exchanges” and Taiwanese society should use a broad perspective to evaluate Hsieh’s visit while taking it in their stride, Tsai said when asked about Hsieh’s visit.
According to Tsai, given that Hsieh is one of the DPP’s founding members and thus the highest-ranking DPP member to have visited China to date, his journey would inevitably come under public scrutiny.
Photo: Liu Hnsi-de, Taipei Times
However, she added, the greatest outcome from Hsieh’s visit was for China to understand that “we can continue interaction with the country.”
The point of the visit is to achieve a mutual understanding with each other through interaction, she added.
The visit is an action in progress, with each meeting and interaction made in the hope that mutual understanding can be boosted, Tsai said, adding that there was no need to read too much into one visit.
When asked if Hsieh’s comment “traveling across the world is only for the courageous; the cowardly find it hard to even take the first step” was a subtle way to urge the party to re-evaulate its China policies, Tsai said that Hsieh most likely did not mean it in such a way.
It took courage for him to take that step forward, of that it is certain, Tsai said, adding that she hoped both the DPP and wider Taiwanese society would not attach too much political meaning to the trip.
Asked if she has any plans to visit China, Tsai said she “has no such plans at present.”
Separately yesterday, former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said anyone can visit China, but the most important thing is to ask why.
“Anyone can go, whether its for business or for socializing, the path is open, but the purpose and the attitude of the trip is the most important issue,” Lee said, adding that while, in terms of Taiwan-China relations, China was not an enemy both sides are still separate entities.
“They are China, we are Taiwan, we’re different, and Taiwan is an independent and sovereign entity,” Lee said.
“We have opened ourselves up too much, so much so that we don’t have a Taiwan — we don’t have any manpower, industry, or technology left. This is inevitable because the person in power does not know how to stand firm in his position and protect his people and how to ‘safely’ invest in China,” he added.
When asked by the media if Hsieh would be subjected to China’s tactics of a “united front” (統戰) during his trip, Lee said that as long as Hsieh stands firm in his own political stance, he would not be influenced.
Additional reporting by Rachel Lin and CNA
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS