Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Saturday in the US said that he does not intend to visit China in the near future and that Washington’s reaffirmation of its “one China” policy was fundamentally good for the US, China and Taiwan.
The Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法) requires the nation’s former heads of state to obtain government approval to travel overseas for up to three years after leaving office, Ma said, adding that it would be better for him to visit China after the three-year period expires.
“This does not totally rule out the possibility [of traveling to China], but the chances are slim,” Ma said, before departing New York for Boston on a seven-day visit to the US.
Asked about his views on Chinese leaders, Ma said he thought former Chinese Communist Party secretary-general Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) was the friendliest toward Taiwan.
Ma said that shortly after taking office as president in 2008, Taiwan and China resumed negotiations and exchanges, signing 23 economic agreements, all while Hu was president of China.
Ma added that when Hu stepped down, he sent Hu a fax wishing him a happy retirement and lauding his contributions to the development of cross-strait relations.
In a CNN interview on Friday last week, Ma said that challenging the “one China” policy would have a major effect on US-China relations that would not benefit Taiwan.
The “one China” policy is the cornerstone of US-China relations, he said in the interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, adding that challenging it would result in serious consequences that would significantly affect those ties.
Taiwan would not benefit from such a development, Ma said in the six-minute segment, which focused mainly on the state of triangular relations between Taiwan, the US and China since early December last year, when President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) made a congratulatory telephone call to then-US president-elect Donald Trump.
The 10-minute telephone call was low-key and not an accident, and had been arranged based on the foundation for the development of Taiwan-US relations, which was laid by his administration, he said.
In another interview in the US, Ma told the Chinese-language World Journal that, while Tsai advocates maintaining the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait, she does not recognize the “1992 consensus.”
The so-called “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 Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
However, the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait has changed since Tsai took office in May last year, Ma said, forecasting that cross-strait relations would continue to deteriorate.
There is no need for Taiwan to move toward independence and any such attempt would fail, he said.
Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party would not dare put the question of Taiwanese independence to a national referendum, he added.
However, under the right conditions, Taiwan and China could “certainly discuss unification,” Ma said, adding that the conditions would have to be to peace, democracy and acceptance by people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
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