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.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS