KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) yesterday poured cold water on President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) proposal to restart a cross-party advisory group on cross-strait relations.
Lien said the KMT has no idea what the government's cross-strait policy is and is therefore unable to offer any comment on the issue.
Showing his disapproval of the DPP's denial of the so-called "1992 consensus" that the KMT believes is the key to a resumption of cross-strait dialogue, Lien said it is the responsibility of those in power to work to improve cross-strait relations.
Lien suggested that the government clearly state its position before seeking talks with China.
On Thursday, Chen said that the government would restart the president's Advisory Group on Cross-strait Relations (
The group was formed soon after Chen's inauguration in May 2000 and was intended to include representatives from all major parties.
But both the KMT and the PFP refused to join on the grounds that the group's function overlapped with that of the National Unification Council -- another presidential-level advisory body set up by former president Lee Teng-hui (
Even the New Party decided to quit a few months after it joined the advisory panel.
Shen Fu-hsiung (
Shen added that the advisory group should include opinions from all sides to fully reflect Taiwan's unification-independence spectrum.
Meanwhile, Wang Tuoh (王拓), chief executive of the DPP legislative caucus, urged the opposition parties to take an active role in the group, saying the consensus reached by the body would help create an appropriate cross-strait policy.
Wang added that the existence of the advisory group is not in conflict with the National Unification Council, nor will it hamper the council's function.
Wang said the council should continue to exist, but believes its title should be changed.
Many DPP members have frowned upon the designation because it makes "unification" a condition for cross-strait talks, Wang noted.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
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