President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) defended his pro-China policies during an interview with CNN as being in the best interests of the Taiwanese and attributed his low support ratings to the global economic recession.
The interview, conducted by CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday via satellite, was aired last night, with discussions focusing on relations between Taiwan, China and the US.
Asked by Amanpour to comment on worries voiced by some Taiwanese that Ma may compromise Taiwan’s sovereignty in exchange for improved relations with China, Ma said such accusations were groundless, adding that he was acting in Taiwan’s best interest.
“In the last two years, we have concluded 12 agreements with mainland China on cross-strait flights, food safety, opening Taiwan to mainland tourists and mutual judicial assistance,” Ma said. “In all these agreements, we not only viewed friendship, but solved many problems that were brought to Taiwan as a result of fast-growing trade and investment relations with the Chinese mainland.”
“All these agreements contribute to prosperity and stability in Taiwan and nothing in these agreements comprised Taiwan’s sovereignty or autonomy,” he said.
Ma said improved cross-strait ties had eased tensions between the two sides and that relations between Taiwan, the US and China were better than at any time in the last 60 years. He said that after the debate with Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Sunday, the public had a much better understanding of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China, and supported it.
When asked by Amanpour to explain his low support ratings, Ma attributed it to the economic situation.
“Well, our economy is recovering, but it has not recovered to the state before the financial tsunami resulting from the US economy,” Ma said. “So we are trying to do more. And this year, the International Monetary Fund has forecast that we will have 6.5 percent growth in our GDP.”
“I’m sure, when our economy becomes better, the situation will improve as a result,” he said.
Amanpour also asked about the possibility of a meeting between Ma and Chinese Preident Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) — and if it could take place at next year’s APEC summit in Hawaii. Ma said he had no plans to meet with Hu at the moment and would not answer a hypothetical question.
“This is really very hypothetical, because, in the past, we have been unable to send high-level representatives to this APEC meeting. I don’t see any possibility in the near future that the situation will change,” Ma said.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
RSS