President Chen Shui-bian (
"A-bian is very happy about the soon-to-take-place Bian-Soong meeting, which may launch a new scope in dialogue and negotiation," Chen said, referring to himself by his nickname, and using an amalgamation of his and Soong's names to refer to the planned meeting.
"We are confident. [We] believe that everyone's expectations will not come to naught," the president said yesterday in his greeting to the Presidential Office's ranking officials in a ceremony that traditionally takes place on the first working day after the Lunar New Year holiday.
"The [political] atmosphere these days is good, but it is transient," Chen said. "We should take advantage of it while it is still around."
The much-talked-about proposed meeting is an attempt to effect reconciliation between the ruling and opposition parties. However, none of the details -- including time, date, or topics -- of the hypothetical "discussions" have been decided upon.
These details are expected to be hashed out after Presidential Office Secretary-General Yu Shyi-kun meets with PFP Secretary-General Chin Chin-sheng (
In his speech yesterday, Chen said that his call for "negotiation, dialogue, reconciliation and cooperation" ought not to be confined only to Taiwan's domestic issues, but should apply also to cross-strait affairs.
"If domestically we can't achieve reconciliation between the ruling and opposition parties, and cooperation between political parties, then how can we talk about reopening the door of negotiations with the other side of the Strait?" the president said.
Noting that the past year had been a year full of turmoil, in which two bitterly fought elections had left the people feeling weary and tiresome, Chen said that in the post-election era everyone is hoping for a country that is united.
Chen then said he is preparing to establish the Committee for Cross-Strait Peace and Development (
"We will not have any bias nor place any restrictions on the process. [We] hope the heads of all parties can take part in it together," Chen added.
Chen also made public his three New Year wishes: reconciliation among political parties, cross-strait peace and the people's well-being were his first wish followed by the hope that Taiwan could deepen and further consolidate its democracy, and that Taiwan's identity can remain the consciousness of the mainstream.
"These are A-bian's dreams, which I believe are also the dreams of the majority of my compatriots," Chen said. "Let's build the dreams, pursue the dreams and actualize the dreams."
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
Left-Handed Girl (左撇子女孩), a film by Taiwanese director Tsou Shih-ching (鄒時擎) and cowritten by Oscar-winning director Sean Baker, won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution at the Cannes Critics’ Week on Wednesday. The award, which includes a 20,000 euro (US$22,656) prize, is intended to support the French release of a first or second feature film by a new director. According to Critics’ Week, the prize would go to the film’s French distributor, Le Pacte. "A melodrama full of twists and turns, Left-Handed Girl retraces the daily life of a single mother and her two daughters in Taipei, combining the irresistible charm of
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
RSS