Responding to calls for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to arrange a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) yesterday said that the move is unnecessary.
The Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) Foundation on Sunday accused Tsai of undermining the efforts of Ma’s administration to establish peaceful relations with China, while exhorting Tsai Ing-wen to meet with Xi, provided that she would agree to the so-called “1992 consensus.”
Speaking on Clara Chou’s (周玉蔻) radio talk show, Tsai Chi-chang said on the air that only presidents who accomplish nothing over their two terms in office must resort to meeting with Xi to cement their role in history.
Photo courtesy of Hit FM via CNA
“President Tsai Ing-wen has no such need, as she has successfully safeguarded the nation’s sovereignty and put into motion much of what other presidents were afraid to do,” he said.
Tsai Chi-chang dismissed a Tsai-Xi meeting as KMT rhetoric, saying that it thinly veiled the party’s position that without such a meeting, Taiwan would remain in danger.
Even if such a meeting took place, it would occur under a Beijing-imposed “box,” he added.
Tsai Chi-chang acknowledged that the US election result would inevitably increase Beijing’s threats to annex Taiwan, but said that he believes Tsai Ing-wen can hold firm, even after US President Donald Trump leaves the White House.
The most recent local elections have shown that the younger generation loves Taiwan, loves the Republic of China (ROC) and will not accept unification with the People’s Republic of China, he said.
Tsai Chi-chang brushed aside KMT allegations that Tsai Ing-wen’s administration was too quick in supporting Trump in the US election, saying that no government in the world would jump to such a conclusion.
Taiwan-US relations are deepening as the US discovers that China harbors great ambitions and is a significant threat to US interests, and due to Taiwan long being threatened by China, he said.
Regardless of who becomes president of the US — president-elect Joe Biden or Trump — their aim of furthering US interests is the same, with only the means changing, Tsai Chi-chang said, adding that the core tenet of Tsai Ing-wen’s administration — to enact policies benefiting Taiwan — also remains the same.
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 that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
When Paraguayan opposition lawmaker Leidy Galeano returned from an all-expenses-paid tour of six Chinese cities late last year, she was convinced Paraguay risked missing out on major economic gains by sticking with longtime ally Taipei over Beijing — a message that participants on the trip heard repeatedly from Chinese officials. “Everything I saw there, I wanted for my country,” said Galeano, a member of the newly-formed Yo Creo party whose senior figures have spoken favorably about China. This trip and others like it — which people familiar with the visits said were at the invitation of the Chinese consulate in Sao Paulo
RSS