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.
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
RSS