The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday criticized President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) for making statements that it said could put the nation’s development at risk.
The KMT in a statement issued yesterday said it was “disappointed” that Tsai told the Washington Post in an interview that it is not likely that “the government of Taiwan would accept a deadline for conditions [the so-called ‘1992 consensus’] that are against the will of the people.”
How Tsai framed her response to a question about the “consensus” — a supposed understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means — does not help in trying to rebuild the cross-strait relationship, the KMT said.
“The ‘1992 consensus’ is a common acknowledgment that has been the bedrock of cross-strait stability in the past eight years,” it said, adding that if the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) does not buy into the consensus, it should put forward a new policy that is “practical, feasible and capable of continuing the peaceful cross-strait ‘status quo.’”
The KMT added that Tsai’s remarks concerning cross-strait relations and developments should be based on boosting the nation’s development.
“[Tsai] should not make statements that might hurt the nation’s development just to curry favor with a particular political party’s supporters,” the KMT said.
“It is undeniable that without the ‘1992 consensus,’ communications between the Mainland Affairs Council and China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, and those between the Straits Exchange Foundation and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits have stalled. While some kind of communication mechanism can be launched when emergencies and major events happen, people’s livelihood’s could be at risk if policy-related communication between the two sides fails to advance,” it said.
The party accused Tsai and the DPP of changing the cross-strait “status quo” and causing it to deteriorate by their refusal to endorse the consensus.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
RSS