Taiwan will avoid military competition with China under his administration, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday, defending his efforts to maintain the cross-strait “status quo” against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) charges of his possible attempts to seek unification.
Ma, whose talk of a cross-strait peace agreement within the next decade raised concerns about possible political negotiations with China, reiterated his “three noes” policy as the major principle of cross-strait relations during a meeting with military generals, stressing that his administration would prevent war across the strait.
“Faced with the rise of the mainland and its growth in military power, it is impossible and unnecessary to engage in military competition with the mainland. We should work to systematize the ‘no use of force’ part, so that Chinese leaders would be reluctant to solve cross-strait issues via wars,” he said.
The “three noes” policy refers to Ma’s proposal of maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” with no unification, no independence and no use of force.
In recent discussions about cross-strait policies during presidential debates and policy platform presentations, Tsai remained critical of the Ma administration maintaining close ties with China and warned that if Ma were re-elected, Taiwan could face the question of ultimate unification.
In defending the government’s efforts to improve cross-strait relations over the past three years, Ma said that the so-called “1992 consensus” — which refers to an alleged consensus with Beijing on the concept of “one China, with each side having its own interpretation” — is designed to help the two sides of the Taiwan Strait put aside their political differences and focus on cross-strait exchanges.
The signing of 16 agreements under the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), he said, helped revive Taiwan’s economy while maintaining the nation’s dignity.
“No matter what we sign, maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ under the constitutional structure and pushing for peace across the Taiwan Strait under the ‘1992 consensus’ remain our major principle,” he said.
Ma, who is seeking re-election in the Jan. 14 election, yesterday launched another wave of “home-stay” campaigns, visiting local night markets in Chiayi and staying in the city overnight.
He is scheduled to continue the home-stay trip in Miaoli and Taoyuan today and tomorrow before returning to Taipei.
Ma is scheduled to begin a nationwide campaign tour on Tuesday, canvassing in the streets of the eastern cities of Hualien and Taitung, and then continuing to Pingtung, Greater Kaohsiung and Tainan, before holding large-scale campaign parties in Changhua, Taipei, Taoyuan and Greater Tainan on the weekend before the presidential election.
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
An electric bus charging facility at Taipei Metro’s Beitou Depot officially opened yesterday with 22 charging bays to serve the city’s 886 electric buses. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) told a ceremony to mark the opening of the facility that the city aims to fully electrify its bus fleet by 2030. The number of electric buses has grown from about 650 last year to 886 this year and is expected to surpass 1,000 by the end of the year, Chiang said. Setting up the charging station in a metro depot optimizes land and energy use, as the metro uses power mainly during the
An exhibition demonstrating the rejuvenation of the indigenous Kuskus Village in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹) opened at the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s conservation station in Taipei on Thursday. Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said they have been promoting the use and development of forestry resources to local indigenous residents for eight years to drive regional revitalization. While modern conservation approaches mostly stem from western scientific research, eco-friendly knowledge and skills passed down through generations of indigenous people, who have lived in Taiwan for centuries, could be more suitable for the environment, he said. The agency’s Pingtung branch Director-General Yang Jui-fen (楊瑞芬)
Traffic controls are to be in place in Taipei starting tonight, police said, as rallies supporting recall efforts targeting the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers as well as a rally organized by the KMT opposing the recall campaigns are to take place tomorrow. Traffic controls are to be in place on City Hall Road starting from 10pm tonight and on Jinan Road Section 1 starting from 8am tomorrow, police said. Recall campaign groups in Taipei and New Taipei advocating for the recall of KMT legislators, along with the Safeguard Taiwan, Anti-Communist Alliance (反共護台聯盟), have previously announced plans for motorcycle parades and public
RSS