The first cross-strait government-to-government meeting has again reflected President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) pro-unification stance and could jeopardize Taiwan’s future dealings with China because it had trapped Taipei in Beijing’s political agenda, pro-localization advocates said yesterday.
Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi’s (王郁琦) failure to bring up the sovereignty issue and challenge Beijing’s anti-Taiwan independence claim in his meeting with Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) in Nanjing last week showed that Ma has always been a unification advocate who does not see the interests of the Taiwanese as his priority, Taiwan Society president Chang Yen-hsien (張炎憲) told a news conference in Taipei.
“Ma has always had that illusional sentiment toward a Great China, which is why Taiwan’s sovereignty and human rights have never been high on his agenda,” Chang said.
Beijing unilaterally listed “anti-Taiwan independence and the insistence on the [so-called] 1992 consensus as the official consensus between governments across the Taiwan Strait, a claim that Wang and his ministry never challenged — either during or after the meeting — and “that is dangerous,” Chang added.
The meeting reaffirmed that a platform for political negotiation has been established and the proposed meeting between Ma and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) was already on the table, Taiwan Thinktank councilor Tung Li-wen (董立文) said.
Given that Wang touched upon political issues that the Legislative Yuan had prohibited prior to his departure to China through a resolution, Tung said that a legislative committee monitoring the cross-strait negotiations should be established as soon as possible.
This year could be “a year of unexpected acceleration” for the development of the cross-strait relations, Taiwan Thinktank deputy executive director Lai I-chung (賴怡忠) said.
As political negotiation is on the table, Ma could abandon his previous pledge of “first the economy, then the politics” and “first the easy, then the difficult” and take initiatives in follow-up events this year, including the meeting between Xi and former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-Chinese Communist Party forum and Zhang’s return visit to Taiwan, among others.
Ma has already betrayed his pledge that Taiwan’s future should be decided by the 23 million Taiwanese, Lai said, since his administration has remained mum about China’s claim of agreement on opposing Taiwan independence.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
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
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS