Reiterating her party’s stance on maintaining the “status quo” in cross-strait relations, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday criticized Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman and New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) possible attendance at the annual forum between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the KMT, saying Taiwan-China relations were being turned into party-to-party relations.
Asked by the media to comment on a likely encounter between Chu and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) at an annual forum hosted by the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) slated for next month, Tsai called for the KMT to differentiate between KMT-CCP exchanges and cross-strait relations, which involve all Taiwanese and are not exclusive to any particular party.
She said that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has handled cross-strait affairs as if they were business between the KMT and CCP, thereby incurring setbacks and provoking public anger.
She called for the KMT not to repeat that mistake by subjugating cross-strait relations to the KMT-CCP framework, which she said would compromise Taiwan’s national interests.
“It is the DPP’s responsibility to maintain stability across the Taiwan Strait,” she said.
Responding to the KMT’s criticism that the DPP has not clarified its China policy and has failed to define the “status quo” that it pledges to maintain, Tsai said that the peaceful and stable relations that Taiwan has developed with China constitute that “status quo.”
However, Tsai said that the pan-blue camp led by the KMT would not be satisfied unless the DPP is squarely on its side, but the DPP and the KMT differ on China policy.
In related news, responding to the DPP’s decision on Thursday to have maintaining the “status quo” across the Strait as its fundamental principle, the US Department of State said yesterday that it welcomes any step to ease tension between the sides of the Taiwan Strait, and would encourage more constructive dialogue between Taipei and Beijing.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) did not directly address the decision, only saying that “recognizing that both sides of the Strait belong to one China is the keystone to cross-strait relations,” and that history has taught that insisting on Taiwanese independence would destabalize ties.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
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The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
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