President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday met with Palauan President Tommy Remengesau Jr in her first open meeting after assuming the presidency on Friday, departing from the customary appellation used by former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) by referring to her administration as the “Taiwanese government.”
Under Ma, public meetings with foreign dignitaries used the formal title of “Republic of China (ROC) government” when referring to Taiwan. While the word “Taiwan” was used sparingly, it was very rarely used in the context of the “Taiwanese government.”
Tsai welcomed Remengesau, who was in Taiwan for Tsai’s inauguration, and said that the two nations could cooperate on the issue of marine conservation.
Photo: CNA
When speaking on bilateral cooperation, Tsai used the term “we” and mentioned “the ROC.”
She said Taiwan can learn from important environmental achievements during Remengesau’s tenure, such as the Micronesian Center for a Sustainable Future and the Palau National Marine Sanctuary.
Meanwhile, Beijing yesterday warned Taiwan that it would cut off critical contacts if Tsai does not state her support for the “one China” framework.
The comments came a day after Tsai’s inauguration speech, in which she called for “positive dialogue” with China, but stopped short of any compromise on Beijing’s demands that she support its “one China” principle.
Beijing and Taipei have had regular, official communication since 2014, but that would stop unless Tsai acknowledges the so-called “1992 consensus,” Xinhua news agency quoted China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) as saying.
“The communication mechanism between the two departments can only continue if the 1992 consensus, which represents the common political foundation of the one China principle, is adhered to,” he was quoted as saying.
In her speech, Tsai reiterated her stance of recognizing that a meeting took place between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chinese officials in 1992, but did not endorse it.
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
‘IRRATIONAL ACTS’: The defense ministry condemned the drills, during which China tested successors to missiles deployed during the Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1995 and 1996 China yesterday fired several Dongfeng ballistic missiles as it began four days of unprecedented military drills off Taiwan proper following US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei the previous day. On Tuesday, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said Beijing would “take all necessary measures” in retaliation should Pelosi visit Taiwan during her Asia tour. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from 1:56pm to 4pm fired 11 Dongfeng missiles into waters north, east and south of Taiwan proper, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Taiwanese armed forces, using “forward warning and surveillance mechanisms,” monitored the missile tests
ANNEXATION PLANS: Remarks by the Chinese ambassador to France showed that Beijing seeks to normalize genocide, re-education and gulags, a US official said European and US officials condemned comments from Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye (盧沙野), after he on Wednesday said that Taiwanese would be “re-educated” after any annexation by China. In an interview on French television, Lu accused the Democratic Progressive Party of “extremist” propaganda and turning Taiwanese against “reunification” with China. “We will re-educate. I’m sure that the Taiwanese population will again become favorable of the reunification and will become patriots again,” Lu told BFM TV. The term “re-education” has been used to describe Chinese authorities’ treatment of Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang. European Parliament Subcommittee on Security and Defense Chairwoman
‘SIMULATED ATTACKS’: Ten warships each from China and Taiwan were maneuvering at close quarters in the Taiwan Strait, with some Chinese vessels crossing the median line Taiwan yesterday reiterated that it would not succumb to pressure from Beijing after China carried out its most provocative military drills in decades in retaliation for US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan last week. “We will never bow to pressure. We uphold freedom and democracy, and believe Taiwanese disapprove [of] China’s bullying actions with force and saber rattling at our door,” Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday. China had “arrogantly” disrupted regional peace and stability, he said, calling on Beijing to not flex its military muscles. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has also called on the international community to “support
‘IRRATIONAL ACTION’: China’s planned drills off Taiwan proper spurred the nation to ‘prepare for war, but we do not seek it,’ a spokesman for the defense ministry said The military is ready to counter “any actions that threaten national sovereignty,” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Sun Li-fang (孫立方) said yesterday in response to China’s announcement of military drills near Taiwan. The Chinese military on Tuesday announced it would hold air and sea live-fire exercises in six locations off Taiwan proper from noon today until noon on Sunday. The drills would be in response to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan this week, which China said breached the “one China” principle — a claim that the US has denied. The drills would be “an irrational action