Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday said that Hsu Wen-long's (許文龍) advocacy of "one China" in a newspaper advertisement Saturday was his personal statement, and not the government's position.
Hsieh said he would try to understand what may have occurred behind the scenes to influence Hsu's move.
"The government's position is clear: we oppose any kind of `one China' principle unilaterally defined by China," Hsieh said during a visit to the Taipei Fine Arts Museum yesterday morning. "Hsu's words are not the government's policy."
Hsu, the founder of the Chi Mei Group and an adviser to the president, surprised many by publishing a letter on Saturday in a newspaper saying that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belonged to "one China," and that he opposed the Taiwan independence movement.
Hsu, who had been warned by China about his apparent pro-independence leanings, is generally seen as an advocate of a new Taiwanese nation and a good friend of the Democratic Progressive Party.
Hsieh said Hsu's statement was very strange to him and "I would like to understand more about his real intent."
Cabinet spokesman Chou Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said Hsu is a respectable businessman who has greatly contributed to the nation's economy.
He said it was more likely that Hsu had somehow been pressured into making the statement, rather than having a real change of heart.
"Beijing has been pressuring Taiwanese businesspeople operating in China to take a pro-China position, and it is likely that Beijing forces them to say things that go against their hearts," Chou said.
He said that most Taiwanese wouldn't believe such statements because they know they are not sincere.
"The premier chatted with Hsu in January," Chou said. "They exchanged views on business and politics. The premier did not detect any change in Hsu's political stance at that time."
Chou said, however, that Hsu's word might reflect the vulnerability of Taiwanese businesspeople operating in China, and that the government should help them.
Meanwhile, Hsieh said yesterday that he was glad that Saturday's demonstration against China's "Anti-Secession" Law ended successfully and peacefully. The world now knows that Taiwanese will not accept China's threats, he added.
The government won't resume dialogue with China at this time because the atmosphere between both sides has been bad, he said. Chou said the government will wait to see if Beijing makes any friendly gestures toward Taiwan to offset its enactment of the "Anti-Secession" Law.
Such gestures could included passing regulations protecting the rights of Taiwanese businesspeople in China, or agreeing to resume cross-strait talks on an equal footing.
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
A Vietnamese migrant worker yesterday won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a Lunar New Year scratch card in Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s (台灣彩券) “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game. The man was the first top-prize winner of the new game launched on Jan. 6 to mark the Lunar New Year. Three Vietnamese migrant workers visited a Taiwan Lottery shop on Xinyue Street in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (崗山), a store representative said. The player bought multiple tickets and, after winning nothing, held the final lottery ticket in one hand and rubbed the store’s statue of the Maitreya Buddha’s belly with the other,
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
RSS