Legislators across party lines yesterday said new flight routes announced by China are testing the nation’s bottom line and that peace across the Taiwan Strait will be difficult to keep if the government does not confront Beijing head on over the matter.
On Monday, China announced via the International Civil Aviation Organization new commercial flight routes just to the west of the median line of the Taiwan Strait, an act said to pose risks to Taiwan’s air safety and defense.
While, the Ministry of National Defense and the Civil Aeronautics Administration on Tuesday took a firm stand against the move, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has made relatively soft remarks on it, merely calling it “unacceptable” and urging China to engage in further negotiations.
SOURCE: CAA
MAC Vice Minister Wu Mei-hung (吳美紅) yesterday said that the two sides should maintain friendly and positive interactions, and that cross-strait talks should continue.
Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Chou Ni-an (周倪安) yesterday lambasted the council, saying its attitude is soft, since the routes should have been decided after sufficient communication between the two nations.
The council should make its objections plain, or it would be tantamount to forfeiting national sovereignty, Chou said.
Chou said the council should suspend the issuing of landing visas in Kinmen County for Chinese visitors and the “small three links” (三通) until cross-strait negotiations are held to deal with Beijing’s announcement.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) said that with China carrying out reclamation projects in the South China Sea and having its military vessels sail through disputed waters to flex its military muscles and showcase its ambitions, it will become more difficult for the government to keep cross-strait peace if it does not demonstrate its strong discontent over the routes.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said Beijing unilaterally established the new routes in the face of the President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) administration because it has become impatient with obstructions to cross-strait negotiations and the KMT’s drubbing in last year’s nine-in-one elections.
DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) criticized the council, accusing it of trying to avoid the problem.
Future cross-strait negotiations might be held under the “one China” regime if the government does not toughen up this time, Tsai said.
Meanwhile, TSU chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) said China is pressing aggressively toward Taiwan, not only in terms of its missiles targeting the nation, but now in the civil aviation arena.
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said during a meeting of the party’s Central Standing Committee that China’s action would have great impact on cross-strait flight safety, national security and sovereignty, adding that the move is extremely disrespectful to Taiwan and in violation of the spirit of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
It also risks incurring changes to the cross-strait “status quo” and peace, Tsai Ing-wen added.
It is unacceptable to Taiwanese that while the Ma administration has been touting its efforts in cross-strait relations, it failed to see this coming, she said, adding that the DPP demands that the government lodge a firm protest with Beijing.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
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
RSS