With the completion of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 18th National Congress last month, Beijing is stepping up pressure on Taiwan to begin political talks and sign a cross-strait “peace agreement.”
During a routine press conference in Beijing yesterday, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Fan Liqing (范麗青) said that China remained committed to safeguarding peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, adding that concerns on Taiwan’s side over the deployment by China of about 1,600 ballistic missiles would be best addressed through timely meetings on military issues.
The best way to reduce military concerns would be for the two sides to discuss the establishment of a cross-strait mutual-trust security mechanism, during which issues of military deployments could be addressed, Fan said.
Both President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration and the Democratic Progressive Party have repeatedly called on Beijing to remove or dismantle the ballistic and cruise missiles aimed at Taiwan. So far, such calls have fallen on deaf ears, with the number of missiles increasing at a rate of about 100 missiles annually.
China has also been upgrading its missile forces, replacing short-range Dong Feng-11 (DF-11) missiles with more modern and accurate versions, while increasing the number of longer-range missiles, such as the DF-15 and its latest addition, the DF-16.
Earlier this month, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said that Taipei expected Beijing would exert more pressure on Taiwan to begin political talks, adding that based on his agency’s assessment of the language used during the CCP congress, China seemed especially keen on signing a cross-strait peace agreement.
Fan said a peace agreement was in line with the overall interests of the “Chinese nation” and that the main task following the party congress was to “deepen the peaceful development of cross-strait relations” through follow-up consultations on the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) and an intensification of economic cooperation and cross-strait cultural exchanges.
In related developments, the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League — one of the eight non-communist political parties in China — held its ninth national congress on Tuesday and pledged to promote the “peaceful reunification of the Chinese nation.”
Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan (王岐山), a member of the CCP Standing Committee, praised the party, which counts about 2,100 Taiwanese living in China as members, for its “patriotic and revolutionary tradition,” and for the contributions it made to “promoting prosperity and peaceful reunification of the Chinese nation,” Xinhua news agency reported.
During the meetings, the league was urged to “deepen exchanges with people from all walks of life” in Taiwan, to “fight with Taiwan compatriots against ‘Taiwan independence’” and to ensure that Taiwanese recognize the so-called “1992 consensus,” a disputed “agreement” under which both sides have conducted negotiations.
The congress also resolved to draw China and Taiwan closer economically, increase the “common cultural identity” and strengthen the “emotional bounds between people across the Strait.”
League chairwoman Lin Wenyi (林文漪) said the party should study and implement the spirit of the 18th National Congress and seek the “peaceful reunification of the Chinese nation.”
Three cases of Candida auris, a fungus that can cause a yeast infection known as candidiasis in humans, have been reported in Taiwan over the past few years, but they did not display drug resistance, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said yesterday. Lo made the statement at a news conference in Taipei, one day after the Washington Post reported that the potentially deadly fungus is spreading in US hospitals. The fungus was first discovered in Japan in 2009 and poses a danger to immunocompromised people, with an estimated mortality rate of 30 to 60 percent, Lo
SWITCH TO BEIJING: The government severed diplomatic relations about an hour after Honduras announced the move, saying that no semi-official ties would be maintained Taiwan severed diplomatic ties with Honduras and ended all cooperation with the Central American country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, about an hour and a half after the Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Twitter at 8am Taiwan time that the nation would cut its ties with Taiwan. Honduran President Xiomara Castro on Wednesday sent Honduran Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduardo Enrique Reina to Beijing to negotiate the establishment of diplomatic relations. She announced the plan on March 14 on Twitter. “To safeguard Taiwan’s sovereignty and dignity, Taiwan is terminating diplomatic ties with Honduras with immediate effect” after communication with
MEDIA, SOCIETY FOCUS: Doublethink Lab said that Beijing is trying to coerce countries that rely on China economically to pursue policies in its favor China has stronger influence over Taiwan’s media and society than any other country, the Taipei-based Doublethink Lab think tank said yesterday, as it announced its China Index gauging Beijing’s global influence. Taiwan ranked 11th overall among 82 countries assessed, but first in terms of social and media influence, Doublethink Lab chairman Puma Shen (沈伯洋) told a news conference in Taipei. More than 200 experts and academics participated in the project, including some highly influential figures, Shen said. The index collects information from countries worldwide to gauge China’s influence and assess how Chinese policies affect them, Shen said. In terms of Chinese
TRADE MISSION: After Fijian elections in December last year, pro-democratic parties formed a coalition and overruled a name change imposed by the former government The Taipei Trade Office in Fiji has been restored to its former name, the Trade Mission of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Republic of Fiji, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Fiji on Friday last week issued a note verbale to the office saying that the name change was retroactively effective from March 15, Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director-General Wallace Chow (周民淦) told a news conference in Taipei. The mission’s diplomatic privileges have been reinstated as stipulated in Fiji’s Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities Act, which was enacted in 1971, Chow said. Taiwan set up a trade