Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday the government and the DPP must discuss whether the DPP's 1999 resolution on Taiwan's future (台灣前途決議文), which explicitly asserts that Taiwan is an independent state called the "Republic of China," can become government policy.
"An interim period is required for discussion as to whether the resolution can serve as a guideline for policy making or even practicable policy in its own right," Tsai said.
"The government must discuss the issue with the DPP and follow the president's instructions," she added.
Tsai made the remarks at a meeting with more than 140 legislative assistants at a two-day cross-strait affairs lecture and seminar program, which finished yesterday.
The DPP government's approach to cross-strait affairs is to maintain the status quo by not changing Taiwan's status either by declaring independence or seeking reunification.
Tsai told the Legislative Yuan in the last legislative session, "Our policy is neutral. We never think about independence and we never think about unification. We only think about how to manage relations smoothly."
President Chen Shui-bian (
The resolution declares that Taiwan is an independent sovereign state whose name is the "Republic of China."
Any changes regarding this independent status, it holds, must be collectively determined by all people in Taiwan through a public referendum.
Tsai's remark followed questions from legislative assistants about her opinion of Chen's statements.
"We have to consider subjective and objective factors as well as the interim and long term strategies of cross-strait affairs when responding to Chen's remarks," she said.
As to whether the National Unification Guidelines (
"Because of the change in circumstances [since the guidelines were drawn up], it is impractical to treat the guidelines as inviolable."
The guidelines were proposed by the KMT government in 1991 as a blueprint for Taiwan's reunification with China.
In related news, during a separate weekly news briefing, MAC Vice Chairman Jonathan Liu (
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation announced on Thursday that it will initiate an anti-dumping investigation on phenol exported from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the US to China.
Prior to the move, China notified the delegations of the four countries on Tuesday, in accordance with WTO rules .
This is the third time that China has initiated an anti-dumping investigation regarding Taiwan, but the first time that it has contacted the country under the WTO framework.
But the notification referred to "Chung-kuo Taipei (中國台北)" instead of the name under which Taiwan is formally registered in the organization -- The Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (台澎金馬個別關稅領域).
In response to China's move, Liu said that it was "quite appropriate" for China to contact Taiwan via the WTO framework since the two sides are members of the organization.
But he added, "It is inappropriate for China to unilaterally change Taiwan's name."
"We expect to interact with China through such international economic organizations. Even though the name China used is not appropriate, it will not influence how the government will protect the rights of related companies in terms of dealing with the probe," Liu said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
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