Former Straits Exchange Foundation chairman Hung Chi-chang (洪奇昌) is hoping the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), of which he is a member, will drop its pursuit of de jure independence if it returns to power next year.
In an interview for a new book about top members of the DPP and future cross-strait relations, Hung said he hoped that the party would announce ahead of next January’s presidential election that it “will not pursue de jure independence” should it regain power.
The book, partly compiled by National Chengchi University professor Tung Chen-yuan (童振源), features interviews with senior DPP members and legislators, mayors and county commissioners on their views and suggestions for the DPP’s China policy.
Hung, who served as foundation chairman from 2007 to 2008 when the DPP was in power, called for the party to produce a new resolution to replace the current one that emphasizes Taiwan’s independence from China.
Hung said the adoption of a new “Republic of China Resolution” would result in changes to the Normal Country Resolution and be a test of the party’s leadership and show how mature the party is.
He said the party is facing several challenges, including a controversy over President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) free economic pilot zones proposal, which DPP lawmakers have blocked in the legislature.
Hung said he wondered if DPP mayors and county commissioners will have reached a consensus on the project by next year, as seven of the eight planned zones are in cities or counties governed by the DPP.
Another challenge will be how the party deals with China, because the party is divided on the existence of the so-called “1992 consensus.”
The consensus, a backbone of the Ma administration’s China policy, refers to a supposed tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party that both Taiwan and China acknowledge there is “one China, with each side having its own interpretation of what that means.”
Former National Security Council secretary-general Su Chi (蘇起) admitted in 2006 that he had made up the term in 2000, before the KMT handed power over to the DPP.
The DPP also lacks political mutual trust with China, Hung said.
He said the party should hold talks with China and the US before next year’s presidential election to reach a new consensus on which the DPP can base its cross-strait policy when it takes power again.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that a surge in respiratory illnesses in China has been caused by at least seven types of pathogens, and small children, elderly people and immunocompromised people should temporarily avoid unnecessary visits to China. The recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China is mainly in the north and among children, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said on Monday. Data released by the Chinese National Health Commission on Sunday showed that among children aged one to four, the main pathogens were influenza viruses and rhinoviruses, while among children aged five to 14, the main pathogens
A study published by online booking platform Expedia revealed searches for travel to Taipei have ballooned 2,786 percent following the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions due to the city being a “designation dupe” for Seoul. The TikTok trend for duping — referring to substituting a designation for a more inexpensive alternative — helped propel interest in Taipei, it said in a consumer survey titled “Unpack ‘24,” which was conducted from September to October in 14 countries. Location dupes are “every bit as delightful as the tried-and-true places travelers love,” Expedia trend tracker Melanie Fish said of the year’s popular alternatives, which
INCENTIVES: The province’s ‘21 measures’ include enhanced agricultural loans for Taiwanese farmers, and rent waivers and housing subsidies for Taiwanese start-ups China’s Fujian Province on Monday began implementing 15 economic measures targeting Taiwanese in its latest bid to fan pro-Beijing sentiment ahead of the Jan. 13 elections. Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency said the policies were part of “21 measures” unveiled in September by China for Fujian’s “integrated cross-strait development demonstration zone.” The partially implemented measures, which were created with input from Beijing, include reducing the wait time for Taiwanese applying for a visa from 20 days to five days and free public transit for Taiwanese older than 65, it said. Residents of Taiwan were granted use of the “all provincial Taiwanese entrepreneur compatriot
Tokyo has requested regions in southern Japan to accommodate people evacuated from Okinawa Prefecture in case of a war in the Taiwan Strait, Kyodo news agency reported on Monday. If a conflict breaks out across the Strait, people on the Sakishima Islands, which lie between Taiwan proper and Okinawa’s main island, would have to be evacuated from the prefecture, the news agency reported. An estimated 120,000 people would need to be moved, including 110,000 citizens and 10,000 tourists, it said. Niitani Koushi, who is in charge of crisis management at the Japanese Cabinet Secretariat, visited Yamaguchi Prefecture at the southern end of Japan’s
RSS