Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday panned remarks by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) that her stance on the nation’s “status quo” is “aligned with the US,” adding that the US “recognizes the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] as the only legitimate government of China,” calls for the gradual reduction of arms sales to Taiwan and is against Taiwan’s participation in international organizations that require statehood.
Online media outlet NewTalk reported that Tsai told pro-independence groups earlier this week that her interpretation of the “status quo” is in line with the stances of the US and Japan, which is “a status quo of [keeping] Taiwan’s sovereignty” and “a status quo that sees Taiwan as not belonging to China.”
The report said that the Taiwan Nation Alliance (TNA) — which consists of more than 30 pro-independence groups — handed a statement via alliance convener and former DPP chairman Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) to Tsai, which reportedly urged Tsai to make her position on the “status quo” clearer in order to bolster Taiwan’s solidarity.
In response, Tsai was said to have told Yao that she is to maintain the “status quo” of Taiwan being separate from China, which is the “status quo” supported by the US, the report said.
Hung yesterday called Tsai’s remarks “dishonest and irresponsible.”
“[Tsai] should read what was stated in the Three Communiques [joint statements made by the US and the People’s Republic of China]. The US stance is that there is one China, that there is what we call the 1992 consensus and that it is against Taiwan’s independence. Are you sure that the stance you uphold is aligned with the US?” Hung asked.
“The US also says that the CCP is the sole legitimate government of China, supports the yearly reduction of arms sales to Taiwan and is against our participation in international organizations,” she said. “Tsai has not only lost national dignity, but also Taiwan’s dignity in saying that she holds the same view as the US on the status quo.”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) also weighed in yesterday, criticizing Tsai for “basing her cross-strait policy on the US government’s interpretation while running for president.”
Regarding the report that Tsai “nodded” in agreement with the TNA’s view that Taiwan is an independent and sovereign nation, KMT spokesperson Yang Wei-chung (楊偉中) said that former US secretary of state Colin Powell in April 2004 said: “Taiwan is not an independent nation” and “does not enjoy sovereignty as a nation,” with then-Department of State spokesman Adam Ereli adding: “The words the secretary used accurately reflect our longstanding policy on Taiwan’s status.”
“[Which stance of the US] is it that Tsai agrees with on the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty?” Yang asked.
Yang also cited former US president Bill Clinton as saying in June 1998 that the US “does not support Taiwan independence, two Chinas, or one China and one Taiwan,” and urged Tsai to respond to that particular US stance.
He called on Tsai to clarify her cross-strait police publicly, rather than using “nods,” referring to it being in line with the US stance or having a spokesperson respond in her stead.
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
RSS