The new “three noes” proposed by former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) have hurt Taiwan’s sovereignty and sent the wrong message that China’s bullying of Taiwan is effective, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
“Ma’s remarks were very inappropriate and gave people the feeling he is trying to hold them back,” Tsai said after attending a meeting for Industry Day in Taipei.
Tsai was referring to the “three noes” — no ruling out the possibility of unification with China, no support for Taiwanese independence and no use of force — put forth by Ma at a forum on Wednesday that marked the three-year anniversary of his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Singapore.
Photo: CNA
When Ma met with Xi, many in Taiwan questioned whether he insisted on the “different interpretations” part of the so-called “1992 consensus” when he spoke to Xi, Tsai said.
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 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
In the public portion of the Ma-Xi meeting, Ma only mentioned the “one China” part of the consensus, but said he raised the “different interpretations” part in their private meeting.
Three years after that meeting, the new “three noes” proposal represents an even greater compromise toward China, Tsai said.
“It seriously hurts Taiwan’s sovereignty and sends a wrong message to the international community that Taiwan will yield to Chinese suppression at a time when China has spared no effort to bully Taiwan,” she said.
China has used every means to suppress Taiwan, including buying its diplomatic allies, depriving it of its right to take part in international activities, sending military jets and vessels to encircle Taiwan, and by spreading fake news to create conflict, Tsai said.
“At such a time, Taiwanese need to be united in facing external perils,” she said.
Ma, as a former president, has an unavoidable responsibility to uphold the nation’s sovereignty, she added.
Tsai also challenged the KMT, of which Ma is a member, to voice its opinion of Ma’s proposal and urged it to stand on the side of Taiwanese in upholding the nation’s sovereignty.
Responding to Tsai’s charges, Ma’s office said that Tsai had made “an ostentatious show with pompous remarks” on the issue.
“Tsai was clearly aiming to rally support for the [Nov. 24] election campaign. She was manipulating public sentiment and purposely distorted the content of Ma’s speech. It is not a demeanor befitting our nation’s leader and we regret that she did so,” the office said in a statement.
“Tsai should focus on how to solve the [nation’s] economic problems and respond to the public’s needs. She should not stir up the contentious issue of unification versus independence to sow discord and tear Taiwanese society apart, all because she and her party have found that the election campaign is not going their way,” it added.
Tsai has falsely accused Ma of surrendering the nation’s sovereignty, “but Ma is no longer the president and right now it is the DPP that is the ruling power in government, the legislature, and holds sway in most local governments, so how can Ma surrender our sovereignty?” it said.
The DPP is obviously trying to salvage its election prospects by stirring conflict through the old unification versus independence issue, KMT spokesman Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said.
“Tsai and her entire ruling party have resorted to the old ways, using the same old tactics to save their flailing election campaign,” he said.
The number of people from Hong Kong applying for residency in Taiwan last year rose 41 percent from a year earlier to 5,858, National Immigration Agency statistics showed. The statistics also showed that 600 applications were filed by Hong Kong residents in the first quarter of this year — three times the number filed in the same period last year — with applicants apparently not deterred by the COVID-19 pandemic. Just one day after it was reported that the Chinese government plans to enact new national security laws in Hong Kong, inquiries regarding immigration to Taiwan grew 10-fold, a Hong Kong-based immigration
‘BEGINNING OF THE END’: Democracy advocate Joshua Wong urged Hong Kongers to stand up and fight, and let the Chinese government know that they will not cave Hong Kong protesters yesterday battled with riot police in busy downtown areas, showing their opposition toward China’s dramatic move to crack down on dissent in the biggest demonstration since the coronavirus swept through the territory in January. Police deployed a water cannon and fired tear gas in the Causeway Bay shopping area after hundreds of protesters had gathered to oppose new national security legislation from China. Police warned the crowd they were taking part in an illegal gathering, and later said in a statement that “rioters threw umbrellas, water bottles and other objects at them.” At least 120 people were arrested,
‘TAIWAN IS SAFE’: As there have been no new local cases for 42 days, people should feel free to travel around the nation — as long as they follow disease prevention rules No new cases of COVID-19 were reported yesterday and only 20 of the people hospitalized after testing positive are still being treated in hospitals, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday in Pingtung County’s Kenting (墾丁) as he promoted a “new disease prevention lifestyle” for the nation. As yesterday was the 42nd consecutive day with no new domestic cases, and experts consider 28 consecutive days with no domestic case — the span of two incubation periods — a sign that a community is relatively safe, Taiwan is safe, said Chen, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC),
SMOOTHER TRANSIT: Japan Airlines reportedly planned to land the flight at Haneda Airport, but changed it to Narita for direct flights to Taiwan The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked Japan for allowing 94 Taiwanese on a chartered plane evacuating others stranded in Russia, where COVID-19 cases are rising and many international flights have been canceled. Ninety-four Taiwanese exchange students and expats, as well as two Russian spouses, arrived at Narita International Airport in Japan yesterday morning on a charter flight operated by Japan Airlines, before taking a transfer flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport last night, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said. As of press time last night, Russia had reported more than 362,000 cases of COVID-19, including more than 3,800 deaths. The government had
RSS