The five-day visit of former South Korean president Kim Young-sam to Taipei was clouded with confusion and misunderstanding yesterday. Nevertheless, the improvement of bilateral ties was still the focus of Kim's meeting with President Chen Shui-bian (
Kim cancelled his press conference scheduled for 3:30pm at the Grand Hotel yesterday after his delegation and the Presidential Office failed to map out the final wording of a written statement.
"The Presidential Office intended to insert a few words into our drafted press release while we wanted to keep it as simple as possible," said Kang Myeong-sang, director of the Institute of China Relations at Korea's Kyungnam University and a member of the 17-strong delegation.
"That [referring to the press conference] was only what we had hoped for. Whatever we do must be agreed by your Presidential Office," said Chung Jey-moon, a member of Korea's National Assembly from the Grand Nation Party, another member of the delegation.
The drafted statement urged the resumption of direct air links to take place as soon as possible "in order to enhance substantive ties between the two sides."
In the statement, both sides agreed that working-level negotiations between the two governments should commence in the near future.
Such negotiations would discuss substantive as well as technical matters related to the resumption of direct air links.
Kang and Chung denied a report in yesterday's Liberty Times that claimed that former president Lee Teng-hui (
"We haven't contacted him and he hasn't contacted us," said Chung. "We'd like to pay a visit but there is no arrangement."
Seoul severed ties with Taipei in August 1992 under then-president Roh Tae-woo as part of its policy to move closer to Beijing and Moscow so as to gain an upper hand in its relations with Pyongyang.
Eugune Chien (簡又新), deputy secretary-general to the president, also denied a Liberty Times report which alleged that Kim "apologized" to Chen for what he saw as the improper process leading up the severance of ties between the two countries.
Kim met Chen for a second round of bilateral talks yesterday morning, which was followed by a lunch banquet hosted by Chen at the Taipei Guest House. Kim met Chen four times during the past two days.
During the meeting yesterday morning, Chen reportedly said it was "brave" of Kim to visit Taiwan because of pressure from China.
Chung confirmed that Kim had sent prior notice to China's embassy in Seoul about his planned visit to Taipei.
The enhancement of bilateral ties included the restoration of annual meetings between economics ministers from the two sides, to "fight against pressure from China to some extent," as well as the improvement of economic ties, Chen said.
Chen also reiterated that three conditions must be met before direct air links can be resumed, sources said.
Taipei would accept the restoration of air links if Taiwan's "national dignity" is respected, and if "substantial benefits" and "parity" are guaranteed to both sides, Chen said.
Chen made clear the three conditions for the first time during his initial meeting with Kim on Thursday.
INCREASED RISK: The Omicron BA.2.75 subvariant has higher immune evasive capacity, but the CECC is more concerned about newer subvariants such as XBB and BQ.1 With the peak season for infectious respiratory diseases coming to an end, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that details of the next phase of lifting COVID-19 masking rules — removing the mask requirement in most indoor settings — are to be announced this week. Discussions on lifting other COVID-19 restrictions are also being held, including further easing border control measures, home isolation requirements and revising the definition for reporting cases, while also downgrading COVID-19 to a lower category of notifiable communicable disease, said Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who heads the CECC. As the daily
PEACE AND STABILITY: The two nations called for the peaceful resolution of cross-Taiwan Strait issues through dialogue without the threat or use of force or coercion The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked France and Australia for voicing their support for Taiwan, saying that peace across the Taiwan Strait is crucial to the stability and prosperity of international society. France and Australia on Monday pledged to deepen ties with Taiwan and reiterated their support for its participation in international organizations at this year’s Foreign and Defense Ministerial Consultations in Paris. The meeting between French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong (黃英賢) and Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles was the second
DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM: Czech president-elect Petr Pavel said his nation stands firmly on the side of democracy and would boost cooperation with Taipei in all aspects Czech president-elect Petr Pavel spoke by telephone with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday, a highly unusual move given the lack of formal ties and a diplomatic coup for Taipei. Tsai spoke with Pavel for 15 minutes in a harmonious atmosphere, Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) said, adding that Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) was also present during the conversation. Lin quoted Pavel as telling Tsai that Taiwan is a trustworthy partner, adding that the Czech Republic stands firmly on the side of democracy and supports Taiwan in maintaining a lively democratic system free from authoritarian coercion. The Czech Republic would
THINK TANK VISIT: The former US Indo-Pacific official said that a capture of Taiwan’s outlying islands by China rather than a large-scale attack is a grave security concern The US and Taiwan can deepen their relations on many fronts, former head of the US Indo-Pacific Command Philip Davidson said yesterday while visiting President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Presidential Office. Davidson is leading a six-member delegation from the National Bureau of Asian Research, a US-based think tank. They arrived on Monday and are scheduled to depart tomorrow. Tsai met with the delegation yesterday morning, welcoming the organization on its first visit to Taiwan since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the office said in a statement. She thanked Davidson, a retired admiral, for paying close attention to matters regarding the Taiwan
RSS