Taiwan should leverage its advantage and go on the offensive by adopting a “bold one China principle (大膽一中)” rather than staying on the defensive against a more powerful China, former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良) said yesterday.
“If the ‘one China’ principle was an inevitable development, we should seek the best ‘one China’ framework for Taiwan, such as the establishment of a China Council which is based on the European Council,” Hsu, 72, said at the book launch of his new book, titled What should Taiwan do?
Hsu said he has always favored the EU model as a potential solution for the cross-strait question, saying that the EU could be seen as a new country and it does not interfere in or oppose the sovereignty of Germany or France.
Hsu said he made the recommendation because Taiwan, which enjoys the advantage of being a democracy, would send elected representatives to the council and Beijing would be embarrassed if its representatives are designated by the government.
He also called for further opening to Chinese investment to revitalize Taiwan’s sluggish economy.
The former chairman has been known for initiating creative political ideas throughout his career, such as a “boldly going west (大膽西進)” initiative in 1995, which encouraged Taiwan’s business investment in China.
In his new book, Hsu calls for the establishment of a grand coalition government, saying that a grand coalition is a must-have for the nation because “no political party in Taiwan will be able to carry out reform and move the country forward alone.”
Hsu also touches upon a number of domestic issues, such as the dispute surrounding nuclear energy, pension reform and the establishment of six free economic pilot zones.
He also criticized the Ma administration for its incompetence.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
RSS