The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday dismissed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) speech reiterating Beijing’s “one China” principle as “uninnovative” and repetitive, while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) urged governments from both sides of the Taiwan Strait to work together to improve relations.
Xi’s talk was “mostly a repetition of his previous remarks and was uninnovative,” DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) said.
“By repeatedly claiming Taiwan as a part of its territory, China would only push Taiwanese further away,” Lee added.
Most Taiwanese are unlikely to accept Xi’s proposed “one country, two systems” formula, he said.
“We are a peace-loving and democratic people, and while we do want to engage in exchanges with China, at the very least they should respect our will,” he said.
Since taking office in 2016, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has consistently held out an olive branch to Beijing in the hope of improving cross-strait relations, Lee said.
“However, mutual respect is the most important thing and how is it respectful to be constantly calling the other country part of yours?” he said. “Taiwan must insist that it is a sovereign and independent nation, and China should respect that.”
Xi made it clear that the so-called “1992 consensus” means accepting the “one China” principle, “leaving absolutely no room for ‘each side having its own interpretation,’” he added.
The KMT should “stop using it [the ‘1992 consensus’] to deceive Taiwanese” and “give them false hope,” Lee said.
The “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
As cross-strait relations continue to deteriorate, government leaders on both sides of the Strait are responsible for seeking new space and ways to ameliorate mutual development, KMT caucus secretary-general William Tseng (曾銘宗) said.
“While Mainland China should have less prerequisites [for collaboration], the DPP administration should be more flexible in terms of its ideological stance, so that both can explore more creative solutions,” he said, adding that the standoff can only be resolved by creating positive interactions.
In response to criticism over the KMT’s approach to the “1992 consensus,” he said that the room for interpreting “one China” existed under former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration.
“The Ma administration adhered to the ‘1992 consensus’ with ‘each side having its own interpretation’ for eight years and it is a fact that cannot be denied,” he said.
New Power Party (NPP) Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) called on Xi to talk to Taiwanese political parties in an “open, transparent and equal manner” without having the “one China” principle as a prerequisite.
“Mr Xi can of course talk about his Chinese dream, while we should be able to express why China and Taiwan are two [separate] countries, and what China can learn from Taiwan’s democracy and human rights protection, because that is what would make the conversation truly meaningful,” Huang wrote on Facebook.
Democracy, freedom, protection of human rights and the right to choose how one would like to live are subjects that China cannot avoid in public conversations, he said.
Huang urged Beijing to “earn respect” by following through its promises, adding that it had failed to report the spread of the African swine fever, despite having signed a cross-strait agreement on disease control and prevention in 2009.
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
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
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