Taiwan will never accept Beijing’s attempts to undermine its sovereignty, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at its National Day celebrations in Beijing vowed to achieve unification with Taiwan.
The CCP’s statement was not conducive to peaceful cross-strait relations, the council said.
The event, hosted by the Chinese State Council, featured Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強), the other five CCP Politburo Standing Committee members and Vice President Wang Qishan (王岐山), as well as 500 guests from China and abroad.
Photo: REUTERS
Taiwanese based in China also attended the ceremony, Xinhua news agency said.
Li greeted “people of all ethnicities” in China, and extended “warmest regards” to “compatriots of Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and overseas.”
With regard to cross-strait relations, Li said it is imperative to implement the general strategies of the CPP to resolve the “Taiwan issue.”
China seeks to maintain and uphold the “one China” principle and the “1992 consensus” to oppose the “secession” of Taiwan, which is promoted from within Taiwan and by foreign entities seeking to meddle with China’s domestic affairs, Li said.
The council said the statement was an attempt to undermine the legitimacy and sovereignty of Taiwan.
“We will never accept such ideas,” it said.
The government is assessing whether Taiwanese attended the event, and urges Taiwanese not to become mouthpieces of the CCP and undermine Taiwan’s national interests, the council said.
Neither side of the Taiwan Strait “belongs” to the other, it said.
The council called on the CCP to respect the choices made by Taiwanese, saying that the international community strongly opposes Beijing’s attempts to disturb peace and the “status quo” across the Strait.
China’s National Day marks the anniversary of the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1, 1949, before the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government retreated to Taiwan.
China Central Television (CCTV) wished its followers on Sina Weibo a happy National Day, posting a picture with an “I Love You, China” slogan.
CELEBRITIES
The picture was quickly shared by the official social media accounts of China-friendly Taiwanese celebrities, including Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜), Rainie Yang (楊丞琳), Lin Chi-ling (林志玲), Jiro Wang (汪東城) and Janine Chang (張鈞甯), who added the phrase: “Best wishes for our fatherland, may it prosper and be strong.”
Lin’s post came after she in August was criticized by Chinese social media users after she did not repost a picture with the slogan “There is only one China” that was originally posted on the CCTV Web site in response to a Taiwan visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The so-called “1992 consensus” — a term that former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday denounced Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) for making false allegations about donations to Ukraine and disclosing confidential documents, with the ministry saying that it would take legal action. The ministry last year signed an agreement with the Czech Republic on a healthcare project to assist Ukraine, which is to be carried out by the Czech Health Technology Institute. Hsu accused the ministry of being indirectly involved in the party politics of the Czech Republic as institute chairman Petr Foit is a local medical supplier, and has close political