Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday gave her best wishes to former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), who is to depart for China tomorrow on a five-day visit.
Hsieh’s visit has garnered a lot of attention because of his seniority in the DPP, Tsai said in a press release.
“Hopefully, his visit will help consolidate cross-strait relations and move them in a positive direction,” the statement said
Tsai praised Hsieh’s courage in making the trip and called for all parties not to “over interpret” his visit because, since losing the presidential elections in January, the DPP has reached a consensus that it should increase its understanding of China.
The former presidential candidate reiterated that cross-strait engagement should be conducted without preconditions and asserted that the party had been pragmatic in its China policy over the years.
“From the Taiwan Independence Clause through to the 1999 Resolution on Taiwan’s Future, the DPP has always been firm about Taiwan’s sovereignty, but with a pragmatic approach,” she said.
Meanwhile, Tsai outlined her observations about her India, following a recent trip to the South Asian nation, at a press event yesterday afternoon, saying that Taiwan should develop links with the country which could become one of its most important trade and strategic allies in Asia.
Tsai, who visited India for the first time from Sept. 19 to Sept. 28, said the country’s economy is “highly complementary” with Taiwan’s and could be Taiwan’s gateway to Central and Western Asia.
While access to Indian markets would have additional entry costs compared with China, the country — which has a population of 1.22 billion — is worth exploring because of its large markets and democratic history she said.
While reviewing her 10-day trip, Tsai said Taiwan should transform itself from being an inward-looking country — a result of being isolated from the international community for an extended period of time — into an outward-looking nation.
With the US poised to realign its focus toward the Asia-Pacific region, Tsai said that Taiwan should do exactly the same because it has always tended to look to the US, Europe and Japan.
At this turbulent time, Taiwan should re-examine its position in Asia and the relationship it wants to develop with countries in the continent to determine its future direction.
As for China, Taiwan cannot afford to ignore the rising power, but it should also seek a “balance” between engaging its former foe and the rest of the world, Tsai said.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
RSS