Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂) yesterday said he would like to invite China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Chairman Chen Deming (陳德銘) for talks at an opportune time, preferably on Kinmen.
Tien made the remark at the foundation’s end of the Lunar Year media luncheon in Taipei, saying that Beijing should seriously consider his proposal.
There has been a high level of “attention and even anxiety from some quarters” with the current state of cross-strait relations, which had “undeniably showed signs of retrograde development” since the transition of government in Taiwan, with Beijing rejecting proposals to “smooth relations,” Tien said.
Photo: CNA
US president-elect Donald Trump’s policies might prove influential in the international community and complicate cross-strait relations, Tien added.
While Taiwan must respond to changing conditions prudently, the overall situation is not as severe as some had feared, Tien said.
“Looking back on our experience over the past 20 years, one could say the situation across the Taiwan Strait was often more severe than what is found currently and they were certainly more difficult to deal with. As interactions accumulate, cross-strait relations had became more complex and diversified, the foundation’s commitment and crucial role in negotiation, exchange and service have not changed,” he said.
“We continue to assert the principles of no political preconditions, mutual respect and openness to innovation as the basis of talks with Beijing, while showing goodwill and creating a friendly environment for communication,” he said, adding that the government wants exchanges with China by previously established institutions to “return to normal.”
“I understand that Chen has visited Taiwan three times, but had never set foot on Kinmen. If it proves opportune, I look forward to meeting him there. Kinmen is a good place to start meeting. I hope Beijing will take this proposal seriously,” Tien said.
When asked to comment on China’s insistence on the “one China” principle, Tien said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) had on multiple occasions made clear statements regarding the government’s position and her remarks are the basis for the future conduct of cross-strait relations.
Tien declined to elaborate on Tsai’s position on the so-called “1992 consensus,” saying: “I believe the Presidential Office is the only appropriate authority to comment on such issues.”
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
‘ONE CHINA’: A statement that Berlin decides its own China policy did not seem to sit well with Beijing, which offered only one meeting with the German official German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul’s trip to China has been canceled, a spokesperson for his ministry said yesterday, amid rising tensions between the two nations, including over Taiwan. Wadephul had planned to address Chinese curbs on rare earths during his visit, but his comments about Berlin deciding on the “design” of its “one China” policy ahead of the trip appear to have rankled China. Asked about Wadephul’s comments, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said the “one China principle” has “no room for any self-definition.” In the interview published on Thursday, Wadephul said he would urge China to
RSS