Former vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday said that Beijing, “if wise,” would want to maintain the so-called “1992 consensus” as there is no point of taking Taiwan by force, which would cost billions of dollars and incite Taiwanese hatred.
In a radio interview with Clara Chou (周玉蔻), Wu was asked whether he has received any calls from Beijing inquiring about his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmanship bid, “like former KMT vice chairman Steve Chan (詹啟賢) said he had.”
Chou was referring to Chan’s revelation on Monday last week — before he announced his candidacy for KMT chairman in the May 20 election — that China’s Taiwan Affairs Office had wanted to know whether he planned to vie for the post.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
Wu said he does not know whether Beijing has concerns about the KMT election.
“I did not ask and it is not appropriate for me to ask either,” Wu said, adding that the election is an intraparty affair.
Asked whether he thinks Beijing would prefer a candidate who is more “unification-oriented” and supports “one China, same interpretation,” the former vice president said that “with enough wisdom, Beijing would definitely want to keep ‘one China, different interpretations,’ and maintain a peaceful and stable cross-strait relationship.”
“There is no point waging war on Taiwan. Even if China were to successfully take Taiwan by force, it would probably cost 30 trillion to 50 trillion US dollars to rebuild and it would pay dearly for the public hatred it had incited, but Beijing might not be able to put up with what it cannot put up with,” Wu said. “When the floodwater comes up to your nose, you would probably take some action.”
While Wu did not specify what it was Beijing would not put up with, Chou suggested that it would be declaring Taiwan independent.
“So the best approach is the 1992 consensus with ‘one China, different interpretations,’” Wu said.
With five aspirants, including Wu, having announced their bids, Chou asked whether Wu would be deprived of votes as “young party members might vote for Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corp president Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the old ones could support Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) has the backing of his father, former premier Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村), and Chan would attract the party’s local faction.”
Wu said he would receive votes from “all the above-mentioned groups.”
Separately yesterday, Hung alleged that Chan told her that he would run for chairman when he tendered his resignation on Jan. 7, an allegation that Chan denied.
In a separate radio interview, Chan said he did not quit in order to run for KMT chairman and that he did indeed hold a different view about how to deal with the party’s assets than other KMT officials, but that was “not the only reason I resigned.”
Chan said before he announced his resignation he felt “discontented and puzzled” after Hung told reporters that “nobody supported the signing of an administrative contract with the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee except Chan,” when he had Hung’s authorization to negotiate with the committee.
It was reported that the committee and Chan, representing the KMT, had agreed to sign an administrative contract that would allow the handover of the party’s shares in Central Investment Co and its subsidiary, Hsinyutai Co, to the state, even though 45 percent of the shares would have to be transferred in the form of a donation.
The contract also had provisions concerning what would be done with the funds garnered from the disposal of Central Investment Co’s assets.
PROCEDURE: Although there is already a cross-strait agreement in place for the extradition of criminals, ample notice is meant to be given to the other side first Ten Taiwanese who were involved in fraud-related crimes in China were extradited back to Taiwan via Kinmen County on Wednesday, four of whom are convicted fraudsters in Taiwan. The 10 people arrived via a ferry operating between Xiamen and Kinmen, also known as the “small three links.” The Kinmen County Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that four of the 10 extradited people were convicted in Taiwan for committing fraud and contravening the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), and were on the wanted list. They were immediately arrested upon arrival and sent to Kinmen Prison to serve their sentences following brief questioning, the office said.
Taipei and Kaohsiung have extended an open invitation to Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki after Chinese authorities abruptly canceled her scheduled concert in Shanghai. Hamasaki, 47, had been slated to perform on Saturday before organizers pulled the show at the last minute, citing “force majeure,” a move widely viewed as retaliation for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could draw a military response from Tokyo. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday said the city “very much welcomes” Hamasaki’s return and would continue to “surprise” her. Hamasaki, who has a large global fan base, including
‘REGRETTABLE’: Travelers reported that Seoul’s online arrival card system lists Taiwan as ‘China (Taiwan),’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday urged South Korea to correct the way Taiwan is listed in its newly launched e-Arrival card system, saying the current designation downgrades the nation’s status. South Korea rolled out the online system on Feb. 24 to gradually replace paper arrival cards, which it plans to phase out by next year. Travelers must complete the electronic form up to 72 hours before entering the country. The ministry said it has received multiple complaints from Taiwanese travelers saying that the system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in dropdown menus for both “place of departure” and “next
VIGILANT: Enterovirus activity remains in the epidemic phase, with the CDC urging caregivers of infected children to be on the lookout for signs of severe illness Influenza activity is rising in neighboring countries, and, with temperatures forecast to drop this week, flu cases are expected to increase in the next two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Hospitals reported 87,162 visits for flu-like illnesses between Nov. 23 and Saturday, which remained about the same level as the previous week, but nine deaths and 24 cases with serious flu complications were also confirmed last week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. Flu activity reached a peak in late September before declining for eight consecutive weeks, CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesman Lin Min-cheng (林明誠)
RSS