Contrary to expectations, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is not likely to change its cross-strait policy during its 19th National Congress, which is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace vice president for studies Douglas Paal said.
Paal, who served as director of the American Institute in Taiwan from 2002 to 2006, yesterday said that he reached the conclusion after speaking with several Chinese officials.
“I have been spending a lot of time trying to talk to people who have Taiwan-related positions in the People’s Republic of China’s official circles. So far they have been more reassuring than frightening in terms of continuity — no big changes,” Paal said on the sidelines of a meeting of Asia-Pacific think-tank leaders in Taipei organized by the Institute for National Policy Research.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
However, it remains to be seen whether the officials’ view is in line with that of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), whose mandate is expected to be renewed at the congress in Beijing, he added.
There has been wide speculation regarding how Xi intends to proceed with the Taiwan issue. Some have predicted a hard-line shift, while others have floated the possibility of a military invasion.
In comparison, Paal seemed sanguine about cross-strait development, saying that he hopes Beijing would be willing to work patiently with Taipei and that the Taiwanese government could find a political basis for resuming some of the semi-official connections that were established by the previous Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration.
“But this takes two sides to cooperate and we have to see how [China] develops its leadership and policy during and after the party congress,” he said.
China is overdue in developing better relations with its neighbors, having spent the past 15 years brawling with Japan, Vietnam and most recently India, Paal said.
When asked whether it is feasible for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to engage in friendly interactions and cooperation under the APEC framework, as President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has suggested, Paal did not give a direct answer.
He instead said he was confident that Xi will “afford respect” to People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), who is set to attend next month’s APEC summit in Da Nang, Vietnam, on Tsai’s behalf.
“It is an opportunity for Taiwan to be represented with all the other nations participating, including [US President] Donald Trump,” he added.
A Taiwanese president has not attended the APEC leadership meeting since the nation became a member of the bloc in 1991 due to obstruction by Beijing.
The highest-level officials to represent the nation’s president at the annual summit were former vice presidents Lien Chan (連戰) and Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) of the KMT.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
RSS