Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) yesterday urged Taipei and Beijing to seek opportunities to resume official dialogue and normal people-to-people exchanges.
His comment on Facebook came after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) remarked on national security at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
“We have also noticed that President Tsai has in recent speeches tried her best to show goodwill to the other side” of the Taiwan Strait, Chiang wrote on Facebook.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
“The KMT continues to welcome remarks that would help melt the ice for cross-strait reconciliation,” he added.
As Lunar New Year celebrations begin, Chiang said that “the ruling parties on both sides should make good use of flexible actions that are legal and reasonable to find opportunities to resume official cross-strait dialogue and normal people-to-people exchanges.”
He also called on the two sides to reduce verbal attacks in political discourse, as well as military tensions.
Commenting on Tsai’s remark that Taiwan-US relations remained stable, Chiang wrote that the KMT hopes Tsai can maintain stability in the relationship.
Tsai should take note of signs of a slight easing of strategic interactions between Washington and Beijing, he wrote, adding that Taiwan’s national security team should include the observation as a basis for its policy judgements.
Commenting on the nation’s “difficult” diplomatic situation, Chiang said that “the KMT sincerely hopes that the government can make substantial breakthroughs in international space.”
The KMT must make the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration aware of people’s concerns regarding COVID-19 vaccines, Chiang wrote.
It is willing to work with the DPP as well as other political parties and organizations to discuss how to best carry out measures related to public health and disease prevention, and contribute its experience in the area, he said.
Tsai yesterday met with senior national security officials, the Presidential Office said.
She told a news conference after the meeting that as long as Beijing is willing to resolve differences, the government is willing to facilitate meaningful dialogue with “equal dignity.”
Once the COVID-19 pandemic has been brought under control, the government hopes that people on both sides of the Strait would gradually resume normal exchanges, she said.
“Cross-strait peace is not Taiwan’s unilateral business. The key is in China’s hands,” she said.
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