A senior White House official on Friday reiterated US calls for China to show flexibility in its relations with Taiwan, but did not comment on the latest remarks by Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅), which were seen by some in Taiwan as conciliatory.
“We repeatedly encourage our friends in Beijing to show flexibility and creativity in cross-strait relations going forward,” US National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said. “I’m hopeful that will continue.”
However, he said that he was not aware of what Wang had said.
Kritenbrink was responding to Taiwanese reporters’ questions after Wang referred to the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution and said that China hopes president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would stick to the Constitution, something she has pledged to do.
“She was elected on the basis of the current Constitution of Taiwan, which recognizes China and Taiwan are one,” Wang said earlier in the week during a visit to Washington.
“It would be difficult to imagine that someone who is elected on the basis of that Constitution should try to do anything in violation of the Constitution,” he said.
In addition to a rare reference to the ROC Constitution, Wang’s remarks were seen as conciliatory, primarily because he did not mention the so-called “1992 consensus.”
The “1992 consensus” refers to a supposed understanding reached during cross-strait talks in 1992 that both Taiwan and China acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
In 2006, former Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted he made up the term “1992 consensus” in 2000.
Tsai has refused to adopt the formula, but has instead promised to maintain the “status quo” under the framework of the ROC Constitution and not to provoke Beijing.
The MAC on Friday said that it welcomed Bejing’s move to face the ROC Constitution in a practical manner.
However, the MAC emphasized that the Taiwanese government has never accepted Beijing’s version of the “one China” principle.
Former MAC chief Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said Wang’s comments indicated that Beijing is adjusting its attitude, no longer insisting on the term “1992 consensus,” and is willing to establish a new basis for cross-strait political interaction with the newly-elected government.
Former deputy legislative speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday said that Wang’s remarks about the ROC Constitution were “a friendly move.”
“The ROC Constitution is the ‘one China’ principle, which is the gist of the ‘1992 consensus,’” she said.
Hung called on Tsai to abide by the ROC Constitutional framework and warned her against using the Constitution as a guise for stances such as “the ROC is Taiwan,” “the ROC on Taiwan” or “the ROC is Taiwan, Penghu, Kimen and Matsu,” which are all against the Constitution, Hung said.
It took director Chong Keat Aun (張吉安) nearly a decade to complete Snow in Midsummer (五月雪), a deft chronicle of Malaysia’s May 13 incident told through one woman’s search for her brother and father. Although only his second feature, it led the field at yesterday’s Golden Horse Awards with nine nominations. Chong said it had been a struggle to get people to share their memories of the intercommunal violence following the 1969 national election, known among the country’s ethnic Chinese community as “513.” “My father, for example, would shut the conversation down if my mother or grandma even mentioned the topic,” Chong said
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 new poll of Taiwanese voters found the top opposition candidate for president jumping past the ruling party’s hopeful into the lead position ahead of January’s election — the latest twist in a drama-filled race. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) had an approval rating of 31.9 percent versus 29.2 percent for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the poll released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed. The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), ranked third with 23.6 percent, according to the survey conducted
A New Taipei City hotpot restaurant could be fined after a rat dropped from the ceiling and landed on a customer’s plate last week, the New Taipei City Department of Health said yesterday after conducting an inspection. A woman recently posted on the “I am a Banciao resident” (我是板橋人) social media group saying that she had been eating with a friend at Chien Tu Shabu Shabu Hotpot Restaurant’s Shuangshi B branch in Banciao District (板橋). “While still eating, a big rat suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, landing on a plate next to a hotpot,” she said. “Later on, a member of
RSS