The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) discussion of its Taiwan independence policy again ended without a consensus yesterday, but participants agreed that the party should engage Beijing and establish an inter-party “constitutional consensus,” before forging closer ties with China.
“Participants agreed that cross-strait exchanges should not be monopolized by any party and the DPP should engage China with confidence. The party needs to fine-tune its policy to win the support of more voters and to resolve the ‘imbalance’ phenomenon,” said former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), convener of an enlarged meeting of the DPP’s China Affairs Committee (CAC).
“The third consensus [of the meeting] was that the DPP should promote constitutionalism in Taiwan and make constitutional consensus [between political parties] the foundation of cross-strait dialogue,” he added.
Photo: CNA
Hsieh denied that the issue of eliminating the party’s Taiwan independence chapter, which has existed since 1991, was discussed at the meeting. However, participants mentioned the formulation of a new resolution, which supposedly would “replace” the previous resolution.
The DPP’s position on Taiwan’s national status has been largely defined by its party charter, which mentions the establishment of the Republic of Taiwan, and its resolution on Taiwan’s future of 1999, which defines Taiwan as a sovereign country separate from China, while acknowledging the Republic of China (ROC) as the nation’s formal title.
However, several DPP members argued that the position is why Beijing has refused to engage in dialogue with the party and that the policy would have to be adjusted so that people would have confidence in the DPP’s ability to manage cross-strait relations.
Tung Cheng-yuan (童振源), a professor at National Chengchi University who previously served as deputy minister of the Mainland Affairs Council, proposed that the party enact an “ROC resolution” which pledges that it would no longer attempt to change the nation’s formal title and establish a Republic of Taiwan.
The fundamental problem does not lie in the Taiwan independence policy, but in the party’s resolution on normalization of the country in 2007, which denounced the legality of the ROC government, former DPP chairman Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良) said after the meeting.
Several participants did mention the formulation of a new resolution for the DPP to better manage future cross-strait relations at the meeting, Hsu said.
“I don’t think the elimination of a past resolution would be meaningful. The problem is whether you can come up with a new resolution as the party’s guidance for the future,” Hsu said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
WATCH FOR HITCHHIKERS: The CDC warned those returning home from Japan to be alert for any contagious diseases that might have come back with them People who have returned from Japan following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) games during the weekend are recommended to watch for symptoms of infectious gastroenteritis, flu and measles for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. Flu viruses remain the most common respiratory pathogen in Taiwan in the past four weeks and the influenza B virus accounted for 55.7 percent of the tested cases, exceeding the percentage of influenza A (H3N2) infections and becoming the local dominant strain, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said at a news conference on Tuesday. There were 82,187 hospital visits for
Alumni from Japan’s Kyoto Tachibana Senior High School marching band, widely known as the “Orange Devils,” staged a flash mob performance at the Grand Hotel in Taipei yesterday to thank Taiwan for its support after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The show, performed on the earthquake’s 15th anniversary, drew more than 100 spectators, some of whom arrived two hours before the show to secure a good viewing spot. The 26-member group played selections from “High School Musical,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and their signature piece “Sing Sing Sing” and shouted “I love
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
RSS