The cross-strait missile crisis that began in 1996 is far from over as peace in the Taiwan Strait is still imperiled by China's continuing military buildup, Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday.
"China's perpetual military buildup has complicated the already volatile cross-strait situation and seriously threatened regional peace," he said. "While some people debate whether to accept China's offer of pandas or to cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party, China's military buildup is an issue that deserves serious attention from both the public and international community."
Wu made the comments while attending a forum in Taipei yesterday to mark the 10th anniversary of the 1996 missile crisis.
Beijing began a campaign of intimidation between June 1995 and March 1996 in reaction to the US giving a visa to former president Lee Teng-hui (
On March 8, 1996, Beijing launched an eight-day live fire drill in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to intimidate Taiwanese voters.
Wu said the government will continue to extend goodwill gestures to Beijing in the hope of seeking reconciliation, cooperation and peace in the Strait despite Beijing's indifference.
The government will continue to promote democratic reform and safeguard the status quo in the Strait, he said. It will also push for China's democratization and the establishment of a new balance of power in the Strait on the basis of democracy and peace, he said.
Wu said Taiwan has transformed itself into a democratic country over the past decade, while China continues to be run by an authoritarian regime which resorts to military might to settle disputes.
Even though Beijing's fundamental Taiwan policy has remained the same over the past decade, Wu said there have been changes.
First, he said, the "rise of China" has fueled tension in the Taiwan Strait and threatened safety in the Asia-Pacific region.
Second, Beijing has made aggressive attempts to change the status quo in the Strait since it passed the "Anti-Secession" Law last March. The legislation, he said, reflects the true nature of China's "non-peaceful rise" and has helped convince the international community that China is a threat to regional peace.
Third, Beijing has let its political maneuvering dictate cross-strait exchanges and interactions, he said. Instead of conducting talks with the duly elected Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government, China has courted the pro-unification opposition with the aim of defining cross-strait exchanges as a "domestic affair," he said.
Meanwhile, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Tsai Ming-hsien (
"It has been 10 years since the 1996 cross-strait missile crisis took place and one year since China enacted the `Anti-Secession' Law, but what we see is Beijing's increasingly tougher stance despite our efforts to push for peace and democracy in the Taiwan Strait," Tsai said at the forum.
He urged the opposition parties to pass the long-stalled arms procurement package.
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
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