Comments by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on cross-strait issues were “interesting” and “constructive,” and Washington looks forward to hearing more from her, a senior US official said on Monday.
US Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Asia Evan Medeiros said he follows what Tsai has to say about cross-strait issues very closely.
“I thought her recent comments were quite interesting and quite constructive, and we look forward to hearing more from her about what her approach is all about,” Medeiros said during a briefing on the US visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Tsai, who is the DPP’s candidate for next year’s presidential election, has said that her party’s basic principle in handling cross-strait relations is “maintaining the status quo.”
Tsai also said she is confident of her ability to handle cross-strait ties well and would try to “avoid accidents” and would not provoke “contradictions, confrontations or conflicts.”
As in the previous presidential campaign four years ago, when she was also the DPP’s candidate, Tsai is expected to visit Washington in the run-up to the presidential election in January next year.
Regarding a planned visit to China by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman and New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), Medeiros said the US supports any cross-strait interactions that are conducted at a pace and in a manner acceptable to both sides and in a way that ensures continued cross-strait stability.
He noted that China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) wrote an opinion piece in the People’s Daily in which he talked about being open to interactions and conversations with all circles of Taiwanese society.
“We think that’s an important, constructive step as Taiwan enters into its election period,” Medeiros said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
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