Despite president-elect Ma Ying-jeou's (
On an invitation from the Friends of Hong Kong Macau Association, Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) told the forum yesterday that since both sides of the Taiwan Strait have their own demands, breakthroughs in cross-strait relations such as a peace treaty or talks over international participation for Taiwan as Ma has proposed would be difficult to achieve, "unless one of the two sides is ready to make concessions."
"Ma has said Taiwan is a sovereign country, that the future of the country should be decided by its people and that independence may be one of the options for the people," Tung said. "But China insists that all negotiations be conducted under the `one China' principle."
Although Ma said there was a "1992 consensus" in which the two sides agreed that each could make its own interpretation of what "one China" means, "Beijing has never recognized the existence of the consensus and has even criticized it," Tung said.
"The core issue in cross-strait relations is not whether Taiwan should be independent or not, rather, it is the unwillingness of the People's Republic of China to recognize the reality [in the Strait]," he said.
The dean of National Chung Hsing University's Graduate Institute of International Politics Tsai Tung-chieh (蔡東杰) doubted that Taiwan would have the room to operate independently in cross-strait relations.
"I think the co-management of the Taiwan Strait by China and the US is the political reality at the moment," Tsai said. "In the past, Taiwan and the US were on the same side, but now Taiwan is in between the two powers and we don't really have a big role in cross-strait relations anymore."
At a separate forum hosted by Taiwan Thinktank yesterday, Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), an executive member of the research center and a political science professor at Soochow University, said that Ma's cross-strait policy puts Beijing at an advantage and whether the "three direct links" with China would materialize hinges on the willingness of China.
"Taiwan does not have any bargaining chips on the negotiation table," Lo said. "China is bound to demand an exorbitant price."
However, he said Ma should make good use of the 41 percent public support for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Saturday's presidential election as a bargaining chip with Beijing.
While one of Ma's election platforms was to sign a peace agreement with China, Lo said the KMT administration could use DPP opposition as leverage and demand that the signing of any peace agreement must obtain the approval of the opposition and that of the people of Taiwan in a national referendum.
Li Ming-juinn (
Ma has a daunting task ahead of him to fulfill his campaign promises on ameliorating the cross-strait situation, as all his goals require consideration from Beijing, political observers said at another forum held yesterday in Taipei.
"Ma put himself in a very challenging position because his campaign promises require him to deliver on some of them soon after his inauguration," said Huang Chieh-cheng (黃介正), a professor at Tamkang University.
Jean-Pierre Cabestan, head of Hong Kong Baptist University's department of government and international studies, also raised a question: While Taiwan is making economic concessions to China in an effort to show its good faith in starting a dialogue, how much is China willing to relax its restriction on investment in Taiwan?
He said in many ways the KMT's "common market" could be unworkable because it requires "security symmetry" between the two sides.
London School of Economics professor Christopher Hughes said it might be too early to predict the future of the Taiwan Strait because "no one really knows what Ma is like as a leader."
"What are his real characteristics? Could be he the `Trojan Horse' as some people have called him?" Hughes said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is
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