Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) yesterday said that his characterization of relations between Taipei and Beijing as being "special state-to-state" in nature has become the "bottom line" in cross-strait negotiations.
Lee shared the limelight yesterday with President Chen Shui-bian (
Lee said yesterday there was no longer a question of the so-called "1992 consensus" or the "one China" principle when it comes to cross-strait relations.
PHOTO: CHU YU-PIN, TAIPEI TIMES
His clarification that relations across the Strait were "special state-to-state" in nature came after almost two years of research based on the works of domestic and foreign legal experts, Lee added.
Lee said when he first made the remarks in July 1999, Beijing had been preparing to announce to the world at its national day celebrations in October that its top cross-strait envoy was scheduled to visit Taiwan to discuss the "one country, two systems" formula.
That was the reason why Wang Daohan (
During a recent television interview, Lee said he decided to clarify that relations were "state-to-state" in nature after he received intelligence information about Beijing's planned announcement.
Lee said he believed the situation was serious, because the announcement would have sent out the message that "the Republic of China has been destroyed."
He said the "one country, two systems" is not a formula because Hong Kong has only been governed under that system for less than four years, yet "things have already become this bad." Lee also said Taiwan must maintain its sovereignty in order to ensure its national security and dignity.
Beijing froze all dialogue and negotiations with Taipei after Lee made his "two states" remarks.
For his part, Chen called in his speech for an objective review of Taiwan's history -- the study of which was suppressed for almost a century under Japanese and KMT rule.
Research on Taiwan's history did not begin to blossom until the late 1980s, Chen said, and since than the academic perspective has been gradually moving away from a Sino-centric angle to a more local one.Also See Debate Inside
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he