Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday said that when he talked about “one China” during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), he was referring to the Republic of China (ROC).
Chu has been criticized over his opening remarks in a meeting with Xi in Beijing on Monday, in which he described the so-called “1992 consensus” by saying that both sides “belong to one China, but with each side ascribing different contents and definitions to the concept of ‘one China.’”
Taiwanese opposition parties accused Chu of making concessions on national sovereignty by recasting the “1992 consensus” under Beijing’s “one China” framework.
Photo: Lai Hsiao-tung, Taipei Times
Chu, who returned to Taiwan early yesterday after a three-day visit to China, said that his phrase “belong to one China,” according to the ROC Constitution, meant “belong to the ROC” — with each side ascribing a different content and definition to “one China.”
Chu added that during his meeting with Xi, he mentioned Taiwan’s history over the past century, as a way to help Beijing understand the existence of different voices in Taiwan and the importance of the two sides agreeing to disagree.
Chu also said the KMT has “expressed a stern protest against and demanded the retraction of” a report by The Associated Press (AP) that said Chu “reaffirmed the party’s support for eventual unification with the mainland” when meeting Xi.
In the article, which AP ran under the headline: “In China, Taiwan party leader calls for more global access,” Chu was reported to have “affirmed his party’s support for eventual unification with the mainland,” according to the KMT.
The report has been widely cited by local media outlets.
In response to reporters’ questions about the AP report, Chu said a protest had been filed with the news agency and a retraction demanded.
“There is no need for some media to maliciously distort or interpret [the meeting or the report] out of context,” Chu said. “We do not have to be trapped by the 1992 consensus, but can look for regional economic cooperation and participation in international organizations, and emphasize how to empower our young people and support small and medium-sized enterprises.”
Late on Monday night, the KMT released a brief statement accusing AP reporter Christopher Bodeen of having made a “serious mistake” in reporting that Chu “reaffirmed his support for eventual unification with the mainland.”
KMT spokesperson Yang Wei-chung (楊偉中) called the report “illusory and inconsistent with the facts,” saying that Chu has “never held such a view and did not talk about issues of unification during the mainland visit.”
The party released another statement yesterday morning asking local media outlets “not to misquote” the article because the AP has since retracted “the report with incorrect content.”
KMT spokesperson Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said that Bodeen had edited the article, removing the remarks that asserted Chu had reaffirmed his support for an eventual union with China.
The edited report said that Chu affirmed his party’s support for “a consensus reached between Chinese and Taiwanese negotiators in 1992 that is interpreted by Beijing as a commitment to an eventual unification,” the KMT said.
FORCED LABOR: A US court listed three Taiwanese and nine firms based in Taiwan in its indictment, with eight of the companies registered at the same address Nine companies registered in Taiwan, as well as three Taiwanese, on Tuesday were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) as a result of a US federal court indictment. The indictment unsealed at the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, said that Chen Zhi (陳志), a dual Cambodian-British national, is being indicted for fraud conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding Group’s forced-labor scam camps in Cambodia. At its peak, the company allegedly made US$30 million per day, court documents showed. The US government has seized Chen’s noncustodial wallet, which contains
SUPPLY CHAIN: Taiwan’s advantages in the drone industry include rapid production capacity that is independent of Chinese-made parts, the economic ministry said The Executive Yuan yesterday approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion (US$1.44 billion) into domestic production of uncrewed aerial vehicles over the next six years, bringing Taiwan’s output value to more than NT$40 billion by 2030 and making the nation Asia’s democratic hub for the drone supply chain. The proposed budget has NT$33.8 billion in new allocations and NT$10.43 billion in existing funds, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Under the new development program, the public sector would purchase nearly 100,000 drones, of which 50,898 would be for civil and government use, while 48,750 would be for national defense, it said. The Ministry of
SENATE RECOMMENDATION: The National Defense Authorization Act encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s navy to participate in the exercises in Hawaii The US Senate on Thursday last week passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, which strongly encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s naval forces to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, as well as allocating military aid of US$1 billion for Taiwan. The bill, which authorizes appropriations for the military activities of the US Department of Defense, military construction and other purposes, passed with 77 votes in support and 20 against. While the NDAA authorizes about US$925 billion of defense spending, the Central News Agency yesterday reported that an aide of US
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
RSS