Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
The BBC interviewed Ma during his visit to the UK on his European tour this month, and was aired on Tuesday in London. During the interview, host Stephen Sackur asked Ma if his cross-strait position was to "side with China," due to his opposition to the president's move to abolish the National Unification Council and guidelines.
Ma appeared agitated during the interview, as he defended both his position and the KMT's cross-strait policy.
PHOTO: TSUNG CHANG-CHIN, TAIPEI TIMES/CTI TELEVISION
"You have in the past been confusing. You've said your ultimate goal is unification with mainland China; you've also said it's an issue that should be settled by Taiwan's 23 million people, and then you said it's an issue that should be settled by people on both sides of the Strait. So which is it?" Sackur asked.
"What I have been saying is that Taiwan's future should be settled by Taiwanese people. This is the consensus of all the people in Taiwan. And they are ..." Ma said.
"What about the people on the other side of the Taiwan Strait?" Sackur interjected.
"Listen to me. There are three options before us: independence, status quo and unification. At the moment, the vast majority of people support the status quo," Ma told the host, later adding, "but in the future, when conditions are ripe, if Taiwanese people have some other thoughts, they could still make that decision according to their free will."
The host also questioned the motives of the pan-blue camp in blocking the arms-procurement deal in the legislature.
Ma, while acknowledging China was a threat to Taiwan, restated his party's opposition to any "unreasonable" procurement bill.
During the interview, Sackur also quoted newspapers criticizing former KMT chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) visit to China last year as a "sellout" of Taiwan, questioning Ma whether he would also "glad-hand" Chinese leaders in Beijing.
Ma said that the KMT would resume talks, sign a peace treaty including a military mutual trust mechanism and try to reach an agreement on establishing a common market if the party regained power in 2008.
"We hope to use these mechanisms to bring peace to the Taiwan Straits instead of an arms race or a confrontation as the Chen administration has done," he said.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
RSS