Taiwan’s future cannot be contingent on the goodwill of Beijing, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in an interview published yesterday by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times), while adding that the government would seek dialogue over confrontation.
The People’s Republic of China has since its founding refused to accept the fact that the Republic of China exists, and has resorted to various forms of threats to coerce Taiwan into accepting its “one China” principle, he said.
Taiwanese find China’s political preconditions for dialogue unacceptable, he said.
Photo: Huang Chun-hsuan, Taipei Times
“We do not accept narrow-minded and rigid ideological frameworks,” Chiu added.
Beijing’s military and economic threats, diplomatic oppression and other actions, including infiltration of Taiwanese society and the use of cognitive warfare, have caused the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to drift further away from each other, he said.
Such actions go against Chinese leaders’ comments that Taiwan and China should be spiritually intertwined, he added.
Chinese oppression of Taiwan is why it has become the target of an international “containment” policy, Chiu said, calling on Beijing to consider measures to facilitate a cross-strait thaw.
The nation’s future should not be contingent upon the “goodwill” of Chinese leaders, he said, adding that President William Lai’s (賴清德) four “pillars” of peace are key to realizing that goal.
In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal in July last year, Lai defined the four pillars as building up the nation’s defense capabilities, promoting economic security and fostering supply chain resilience, forming partnerships with other democracies and maintaining steady and principled cross-strait leadership.
Commenting on Beijing’s recent guidelines allowing its courts to impose severe punishments on “die-hard Taiwanese independence advocates,” Chiu said they have a negative effect and undermine cross -strait relations.
They are a classic demonstration of “legal warfare,” he said, urging Taiwanese to reconsider non-essential visits to China, Macau or Hong Kong.
The guidelines are full of “uncivilized” practices, including long-arm jurisdiction, trials in absentia, confiscation of property and even extend to a target’s family, he added.
Chiu also called on Beijing to release the cerw of the fishing boat Da Jin Man No. 88 (大進滿88), which was detained by the China Coast Guard on Tuesday last week, as well as provide medicine for crew members who need them.
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
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