China's proposed "anti-secession" law will hurt the status quo and both China and Taiwan should take a step back and make compromises to resolve the situation, Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
"China's actions are escalating tensions across the Strait. Both sides should take a step back; if [China and Taiwan] are competing to prove their own bravery, then that is very dangerous," Ma said at ceremony marking the donation of a refugee house in Taipei.
NPC
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
Ma's comments come on the heels of recent calls from pan-green politicians for him and fellow Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) to clarify their stances on the draft law set to be passed by China's National People's Congress within the month.
A statement made by Chinese President Hu Jin-tao (
Positive factors
In his Friday statement, Hu alluded to President Chen Shui-bian's (
The "four noes" refer to Chen's pledge to refrain from declaring independence, changing the nation's title, pushing for the inclusion of the state-to-state description of cross-strait relations in the Constitution and promoting a referendum to change the status quo on independence or unification during his term in office.
Jeopardy
Saying that the basic rule in maintaining peace between the two sides of the strait is that "China does not use force and Taiwan does not declare independence," Ma noted that if neither side can respect this rule, cross-strait relations will be jeopardized.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
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