A former US Foreign Service officer urged China to resume official dialogue with Taiwan to improve cross-strait relations as the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 19th National Congress concluded in Beijing on Tuesday.
In an interview with the Central News Agency on Wednesday, former US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs Daniel Russel said that with politics in Beijing now more settled, he hopes Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) will be flexible in restoring cross-strait talks that have been suspended since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in May last year.
Tsai’s recognition of the existence of a “1992 meeting,” but not of the so-called “1992 consensus,” in her inaugural address reduced Beijing’s willingness to engage with her government, he said.
“It is my hope that, with the 19th party congress behind them and politics in Beijing perhaps a little more settled, the mainland side will show the kind of flexibility that would be required for it to restore ‘authoritative dialogue’ in the cross-strait channel,” Russel said.
The two sides have to find a way to formulate language that is mutually acceptable to both sides and it all depends on how Beijing assesses developments and trends in Taiwan, Russel said.
“It is no secret that among the younger generation, in the aftermath of the Sunflower movement [in 2014], there are questions being asked about the traditional policies and principles of ‘one China,’” he said, adding that support for Taiwanese independence is strong among young people.
It is up to the leadership in Beijing to reach an understanding internally about what course of action to take in the face of this new trend in Taiwan, Russel said.
“I hope that it leads them to conclude that respect for Taiwan’s dignity; support for Taiwan’s appropriate participation in international affairs and organizations; an open and cooperative economic relationship and an authoritative official channel of dialogue are necessary,” he said.
Asked how the Tsai administration could resume cross-strait dialogue, Russel said it was Beijing, not Taipei, that had made the decision to halt cross-strait dialogue.
Without a doubt, the US would like to see a resumption of official dialogue between Taipei and Beijing, he said.
However, unlike China, a communist authoritarian system, Taiwan is a democracy, he added.
“If in order to find political formulations that are acceptable to a sufficiently broad spectrum of the public on Taiwan, it takes time. Then it’s gonna take time,” he said.
The important thing is that the authorities in Taiwan are making an effort to signal to mainland China that they, too, want to maintain stability in cross-strait relations, Russel said.
“Probably the best advice, from an outsider, is to urge the leaderships on both sides to keep at it, to be determined, to be creative, to be flexible, to be patient, but also to exercise restraint,” he said.
“What we don’t want is for either side to lose patience, either side to give up and we don’t want either side to take unilateral action to upend or disrupt the ‘status quo’ in a way that may have unfortunate consequences that will affect the US,” he added.
Russel on Sunday arrived on his first visit to Taiwan and left on Wednesday.
A career senior diplomat, Russel served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs from July 2013 to March this year.
In April, Russel joined the Asia Society Policy Institute, a think tank that tackles policy challenges confronting the Asia-Pacific region, where he serves as diplomat-in-residence and a senior fellow.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS