New Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) yesterday at his swearing-in ceremony pledged to do his best to break the cross-Taiwan Strait impasse without sacrificing the nation’s sovereignty, but offered no specifics on how he planned to achieve it.
Former National Security Council adviser Chiu said in his address that Taiwanese and Chinese are anxiously hoping that they can resume normal exchanges once the COVID-19 pandemic is properly contained, pledging to do his best to meet the public’s expectations to end the cross-strait standoff and improve ties, while upholding Taiwan’s sovereignty and democratic system.
Chiu was sworn in to succeed Chen Ming-tong (陳明通), who was named National Security Bureau director-general.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Chiu, a 64-year-old former lawmaker and prosecutor, served as President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) minister of justice from 2016 to 2018, and held the No. 2 post at the MAC from 2004 to 2005 in a previous Democratic Progressive Party administration.
His appointment was part of a reshuffle of three Cabinet-level officials announced by the Presidential Office on Friday last week.
The appointment of Chiu could be seen as a friendly gesture to Beijing, as Chiu is known to be dovish in his approach to cross-strait issues, academic Chao Chun-shan (趙春山) has said.
Beijing has taken a hardline stance on cross-strait relations. It cut off dialogue with Taipei after Tsai took office in May 2016 and refused to accept the so-called “1992 consensus.”
The “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
The DPP contends that the consensus never existed and is “a mere illusion,” because China does not recognize the principle that each side is free to interpret “one China” as it sees fit.
Asked about the so-called “1992 consensus,” Chiu said that Beijing’s version focuses on the “one China” part of the formula, which sees Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China, “which is unacceptable to Taiwanese.”
Beijing’s continuous insistence on the “1992 consensus” and the “one China” principle as the basis for cross-strait exchanges is detrimental to Taiwan-China relations, he said.
Chiu called on Beijing to “be more practical” in pushing for cross-strait interaction to enhance mutual trust.
Separately yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense held a closed ceremony for the inauguration of new Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正), who was formerly National Security Bureau director-general.
Chiu Kuo-cheng succeeds Yen De-fa (嚴德發), who was handed an advisory role with the National Security Council.
Minister Without Portfolio Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成), who presided over the ceremony, said that Chiu Kuo-cheng is an exceptionally capable official and the government has high hopes for him as the new leader of the ministry, the Military News Agency reported.
Additional reporting by Aaron Tu
OVERHAUL NEEDED: The government should improve its agricultural processing capabilities and expand to new markets to limit its reliance on China, an expert said China’s ban on Taiwanese pineapples was “unsurprising,” and Taiwan should have years ago altered its produce export strategies and target customers, experts said. China on Friday abruptly suspended imports of pineapples from Taiwan, saying that it had on multiple occasions discovered “harmful biological entities” on the fruit. Calling it an “unfriendly” move, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said that 99.79 percent of the pineapples sent to China since last year have met China’s import standards. Chiao Chun (焦鈞), the author of Fruits and Politics — A Recollection of Cross-strait Agricultural Interaction Over the Past Decade (水果政治學:兩岸農業交流十年回顧與展望), said that China’s announcement is clearly targeting
‘NOT COLD ENOUGH’: Schools are disregarding Premier Su Tseng-chang’s instruction that students may wear out-of-uniform clothing to stay warm, an association said An investigative report revealed that 72.5 percent of the nation’s senior-high schools and 95.6 percent of junior-high schools punish students for wearing unapproved winter clothes in contravention of educational guidelines, lawmakers and student rights advocates said yesterday. Speaking at a news conference at the Legislative Yuan, the Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy said there is an endemic disregard for the Ministry of Education’s regulations and that private schools are more likely to contravene ministry rules. The report is a compilation of 2,856 student reports about dress code reinforcement at 425 high schools and vocational high schools, the association said. Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌)
DECADES OF INFLUENCE: Over the past 20 years, China has made inroads with Aborigines, funding political campaigns and trips, a legislator said Lawmakers have called on the National Security Bureau to investigate claims of pervasive Chinese influence among Aboriginal communities. Legislators pointed to a surge in communist propaganda and Chinese-funded projects over the past few years, which they say are aimed at infiltrating and buying political influence among Aboriginal communities. “China has for decades carried out wide-ranging ‘united front’ tactics and propaganda campaigns targeting Aborigines,” said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ying (陳瑩), a member of the Puyuma community in Taitung County. “Now, they are influencing elections for local councilors and village chiefs, offering money for candidates to mount their campaigns, and to
DISSATISFACTION? If the referendums collect more than 700,000 signatures each, they would have gotten the most signatures in the shortest time, the party said The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) two referendum petitions — one on banning the importation of pork with traces of ractopamine and the other on holding referendums on the same day as national elections — had as of Thursday gathered 691,398 and 674,497 signatures respectively, the party said yesterday. If the petitions collect more than 700,000 signatures apiece, they would have garnered the most signatures in the shortest time since the Referendum Act (公民投票法) was amended in 2017, party officials said. The KMT proposed the “anti-ractopamine pork” or “food safety” referendum just days after President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) announcement on Aug. 28 last