While the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) recent efforts to carry out exchanges with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are worthy of encouragement, “no positive improvement can be seen” in the transformation of the party’s cross-strait policies, a top Chinese official in charge of Taiwanese affairs said on Monday.
Taiwan Affairs Office Deputy Director Sun Yafu (孫亞夫) made the comments on the sidelines of a seminar on cross-strait relations held in Shenyang.
Sun also spoke about the possibility of a meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). He said that holding such a meeting would be a good thing, but that both sides have to work hard to create the conditions for it to occur.
Cheng Siwei (成思危), former vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and an academic specializing in Taiwan affairs, said that China would continue to promote political dialogue between citizens on both sides of the Strait to boost mutual understanding and trust.
Such interactions would also create platforms and mechanisms for discussions on a wider range of political issues and attract more DPP members to participate, leading to more substantive results, Cheng said.
Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), head of the financial and economic law department at Asia University, and a DPP member familiar with China affairs, said that there is consensus among political parties in Taiwan on the need to maintain cross-strait peace .
However, since Taiwan is a diverse and democratic society, it is normal that there be different and opposing views on the development of cross-strait relations, he said, adding that the key is how to settle such differences.
Chiu said that Taiwan and China should shift their cross-strait policy from one of mutual non-recognition of sovereignty to mutual recognition of sovereignty.
The signing of 19 agreements related to customs cooperation, bilateral judicial assistance and economic and trade exchanges between the two sides is tantamount to mutual recognition of sovereignty across the Strait, he said.
Ma recently expressed his hopes of attending the APEC forum in his capacity as the head of an economic entity.
In response, Sun said that China is aware of Taiwan’s long-term aspirations, but arrangements have to be made by APEC based on conventional practices.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS