Follow the Debate - China & Taiwan April to June 2011
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The Wall Street Journal 18/6/2011
Never Fear, Taiwan — Congress is Here
With the Obama administration keeping quiet on what the U.S. should do about weapons sales to Taiwan and a growing number of influential figures calling for a rethink of the U.S. relationship with the island, Taipei could be forgiven for wondering whether it has any allies left in the big country across the pond.
The message from U.S. Congress: We’re still here.
Kaixin OpEd - Hmmm ..... see what I mean
See Kaixin's - Where to now, America?
Global Times 16/6/2011
Beijing OKs role of Taiwan in spat
Safeguarding sovereignty over the South China Sea is a shared obligation for both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, an official said in Beijing, a statement which may herald an inclination to cooperate with Taiwan on the issue.
"It is a shared obligation for people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits to safeguard sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and its adjacent waters," Yang Yi, a spokesperson with the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, told a press conference Tuesday.
Taiwan's army said Tuesday that it would send a fleet of ships to the South China Sea and would station tanks on Taiping, the biggest of the Nansha Islands, at the end of June, the Taipei-based United Evening News reported.
XinHua News 13/6/2011
China's top political advisor addresses cross-Strait forum, stresses grassroots exchanges
XIAMEN, June 12 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Jia Qinglin delivered a keynote speech Sunday morning at the third Straits Forum, the largest annual platform for mainland-Taiwan exchanges, in southeast China's coastal city of Xiamen.
Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said during the forum's centerpiece conference that momentum for the development of relations between the mainland and Taiwan comes from "grassroots exchanges."
"People at grassroots levels on both sides of the Taiwan Strait provide the momentum that drives the Strait Forum, and the vitality of relations between the mainland and Taiwan is rooted in grassroots-level exchanges," Jia said.
See Kaixin's - CHINA & TAIWAN
Mainland announces "proactive" policy package to benefit Taiwan
XIAMEN, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese mainland on Sunday announced a raft of measures on tourism, transportation, farmers and food safety to boost Taiwan's economic growth and cross-Strait relations.
A pilot plan allowing mainlanders to visit Taiwan as individual tourists will start on June 28, which covers residents of Beijing, Shanghai and southeastern city of Xiamen at the first stage, said Wang Yi, head of the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office.
See Kaiixn's - CHINA & TAIWAN
CCTV 10/6/2011
Crossover: Discussion on individual travel to Taiwan
For more discussion on individual travel to Taiwan, CCTV was joined on the phone by Joanna Lei, the former Taiwan legislator.
Q1: Tourists from the mainland are now able to roam across Taiwan without having to be part of a group. How significant is that? Do you believe it a sign the two sides trust each other more?
Q2: But restrictions on these individual tourists have not been fully removed.
CCTV 9/6/2011
Taiwan Cultural Week kicks off in Xi'an - VIDEO
Visitors to Xi'an International Horticultural Expo are invited to embark on a musical and cultural romp through the island of Taiwan. As one of the headline events at the Expo, Taiwan Cultural Week was kicked off over last weekend.
A performance of the "Wild Fire Music" Band from Taiwan opened the Taiwan Cultural Week on Sunday.
"Wild Fire Music" is one of the few bands in Taiwan that work diligently on promoting traditional music among the island's indigenous communities.
Brightly dressed with ethnic costumes, the singers were crooning a folk ballad with a refreshing and intoxicating melody.
Next, another art group presented a modern rendition of playing diabolo, or the Chinese yo-yo. With a combination of multi-media projection and superb techniques, the program has been well received during its tour to thirty countries.
XinHua News 9/6/2011
Ban on individual mainland tourists to Taiwan to be lifted by June
TAIPEI, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Tourists from selected cities in the Chinese mainland will be able to travel across the Taiwan Strait as individuals by the end of June, said a senior mainland negotiator Wednesday.
The mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) and its Taiwan counterpart Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) have reached a common understanding on this issue, said Zheng Lizhong, ARATS vice president, at a press conference here.
Yet tourism associations on both sides still need time to finalize the technical details and exchange the documents before the policy officially takes effect, Zheng said.
The Wall Street Journal 28/5/2011
Should the U.S. Sell More F-16s to Taiwan?
At a time when some in Washington’s foreign policy firmament are suggesting the U.S. reconsider its commitment to defend Taiwan, nearly have of the U.S. Senate joined in sending a letter Thursday to President Barack Obama urging the government expedite the sale of new F-16 C/Ds and upgrades to Taiwan’s existing 145 F-16 A/Bs.
Kaixin OpEd - .... and as those Senators are only glove puppets for the American people it is an indicator or where America public opinion is on China.
Asia Times Online 26/5/2011
Taiwan caught in China-US diplomatic speak
By Jens Kastner
Taiwan dominated the agenda of General Chen Bingde's week-long visit to the United States. Through guarded remarks, the People's Liberation Army officer revealed that the weight of China's reaction to F-16 fighter sales or upgrades to Taipei is largely shaped by domestic politics, and that Beijing rather optimistically hopes the Taiwan Relations Act's days are numbered.
Taiwan steps up FTA race
By Jens Kastner
The opening of free-trade talks with Singapore is a small but significant step for Taiwan as it tries to catch up with agreements forged by South Korea, its arch rival in trade. If negotiations with Singapore proceed without being used to make Taiwan look like a formal state, Beijing will likely stand aside again.
The Wall Street Journal 26/5/2011
Taiwan Risks Trade Isolation, Group Warns
TAIPEI—A warning from a government trade council in Taiwan highlights concerns that the island has become increasingly isolated by the burgeoning network of free trade agreements connecting Asia and the rest of the world.
Although Taiwan signed a landmark trade agreement with China last year ...
People's Daily 25//2011
China firmly opposes remarks against one-China principle: FM spokeswoman
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said late Tuesday that China firmly opposes remarks and actions against one-China principle.
There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China's territory. "This is China's consistent and clear stance on the Taiwan issue, and is also a fact recognized by the international community including the United States," Jiang said in a statement.
"We firmly oppose remarks and actions of some Americans who ignore the fact while violating the one-China principle," Jiang added.
Jiang made the statement in response to a recent comment by Richard Bush, former chairman and managing director of the "American Institute in Taiwan."
See Kaixin's - Where to New America?
Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations Between China and US January 1, 1979
The United States of America and the People’s Republic of China have agreed to recognize each other and to establish diplomatic relations as of January 1, 1979.
The United States of America recognizes the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China. Within this context, the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan.
The Wall Street Journal 21/5/2011
‘Lying Through His Teeth’: Taiwan Scoffs at China ‘No Missile’ Claim
Over the past 60 years, China and Taiwan have hurled threats across the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait. But China’s People’s Liberation Army Chief of General Staff Chen Bingde found a new way to get Taiwan’s goat: downplay China’s threat to Taiwan.
XinHua News 20/5/2011
Ma Ying-jeou: Cross-Strait ties actively improved - VIDEO
BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Taiwanese leader Ma Ying-jeou has given a review of his three-year performance. He says his administration has actively improved Cross-Strait ties with the Chinese mainland and allowed people in Taiwan to enjoy a peaceful and prosperous cross-Strait environment.
People's Daily 20/5/2011
Arms sales to Taiwan hurt Sino-US military relations
A senior Chinese military officer on Wednesday played down media reports about the mainland's missile deployment across the Taiwan Straits, but warned against further US arms sales to the island.
The Wall Street Journal 12/5/2011
Taiwan, China Discuss Possible Rare-Earths Deal
TAIPEI—Taiwan and China are discussing a possible agreement in which Beijing would allow the export of more rare-earth materials to the island as it tries to shore up its technology and petrochemical companies.
Hou Kuan-chih, a consultant to Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs said Wednesday that he met recently with Chinese negotiators and said Beijing was receptive to a possible deal. Beijing might lift some of its export quotas or lower export tariffs on shipments of rare-earth minerals to Taiwan, Mr. Hou said. China's Commerce Ministry was unavailable for comment.
Preferential treatment by China for Taiwan in supplies of rare-earth ...
The Wall Street Journal 12/5/2011
Taiwan’s Demographic ‘Time Bomb’
While it took the United States 73 years to jump from an aging to an aged society (in which people over 65 make up at least 7% of the population), it has taken Taiwan just 25 years. The speed of that transformation has set alarm bells ringing on the island, with Minister of State Hsueh Cherng-tay warning recently that Taiwan faces a demographic “time bomb.”
XinHua News 12/5/2011
Third Strait Forum to be held in Fujian in June: spokeswoman
BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The third Strait Forum will be held in Xiamen City of southeastern China's Fujian Province from June 11 to 17, a mainland official said on Wednesday.
The unofficial forum will focus on grassroots exchanges across the Taiwan Strait, according to Fan Liqing, a spokeswoman for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office.
The forum will invite a large number of people from Taiwan's various circles, especially grassroots individuals from central and southern Taiwan, and promote cooperation at village and town levels across the Strait.
The forum includes 13 activities such as cross-Strait folk stories, cultural exchanges, and the staging of Taiwan temple fairs.
China Daily 11/5/2011
Taiwan to postpone purchases of US weapons
TAIPEI, Taiwan - Taiwan is postponing purchases of U.S.-made Black Hawk helicopters and Patriot air defense systems that are part of a $6.4 billion U.S. weapons package, officials said Tuesday.
Lin Yu-fang, of the ruling Kuomintang party, said Taiwan is either delaying purchases of new items or postponing payments for existing programs because of the funding shortfall. The procurement of six Patriot missile systems has been pushed back from 2014 to 2017 and 60 Black Hawk helicopters from 2016 to 2019 or 2020, he said.
Taiwan's military spokesman Luo Shou-he denied that the postponements were caused by budget constraints and instead cited production delays by U.S. defense contractors.
The Chinese mainland strongly opposes American arms sales to Taiwan, seeing them as interference in its domestic affairs.
Hu meets with KMT honorary chairman
BEIJING -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee General Secretary Hu Jintao met with Wu Poh-Hsiung, honorary chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) Party, in Beijing on Tuesday.
Wu was in Beijing after attending the seventh Cross-Straits Economic, Trade and Culture Forum, which closed on Sunday in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province.
Hu said the past three years have witnessed a slew of breakthroughs and historic changes in cross-Straits ties, following a meeting between Hu and Wu in May 2008 in which both sides agreed to usher in a new era of peaceful development in cross-Straits relations.
Cross-Straits negotiations have continued and systematic arrangements for cross-Straits exchanges have been made over the past three years, Hu said. He also listed the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) and the expansion of people-to-people exchanges as examples of cooperation between the two sides.
Hu stressed that both sides should cement their political foundations and expand consultations in order to create more favorable conditions for the development of cross-Straits ties.
Hu said that both parties should continue their efforts to oppose secessionists seeking "Taiwanese independence" and stick to the 1992 Consensus, wherein both sides of the Taiwan Strait adhere to the one-China principle.
Xinhua News 9/5/2011
Seventh cross-Strait forum concludes, 19 joint proposals adopted
CHENGDU, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The seventh Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Culture Forum closed Sunday in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, with the adoption of 19 proposals for the promotion of cross-Strait cooperation in various fields.
The Wall Street Journal 7/5/2011
Taiwan’s Diminishing Media Freedom
Given its location in a region marked by repressive regimes and tight media controls, it might seem to be splitting hairs to parse media freedoms in Taiwan.
Kaixin OpEd - A 'Free' Media sings the praises of America. A repressed media questions America. About half the population of Taiwan want a united China. So there is debate and questioning of Taiwan's alliance with America.
The Wall Street Journal 30/4/2011
Bad Tiding in Election for China-Taiwan Ties?
While it would be folly to project a winner at this point in the race, security analyst say one likely outcome of the election, regardless of who wins, is a cool down in China-Taiwan ties.
Kaixin OpEd - …. and we wouldn’t want America’s little aircraft carrier just off the coast of China to sail into the sunset of a united China, now, would we???
The Wall Street Journal 29/4/2011
Taiwan Opposition Makes Its Pick
TAIPEI—Taiwan's main opposition party announced that Tsai Ing-wen, a political moderate who supports economic cooperation with China, will be its candidate in presidential elections next year.
Ms. Tsai, chairwoman of the Democratic Progressive Party, will run against President Ma Ying-jeou of the ruling Kuomintang in the elections that will serve as a referendum on historic steps taken by Mr. Ma in his first term to warm long-frosty political and economic relations with China.
The Wall Street Journal 26/4/2011
China Hopes Boost Taiwan Banks
Banking regulators in China and Taiwan had their first-ever meeting on cross-strait regulatory issues, and analysts expect the result to be faster China expansion for Taiwan banks—in particular, rules allowing a Taiwanese bank to set up a subsidiary one year after opening up a branch and to conduct yuan business immediately after setting up a subsidiary.
People's Daily 26/4/2011
Chinese mainland, Taiwan hold first negotiation on financial co-op
Liu Mingkang, head of the mainland's banking regulator, and his counterpart in Taiwan Chen Yuh-Chang held their first official negotiation on Monday to set up detailed regulations for cross-Strait financial cooperation.
It is the first time for the mainland and Taiwan to hold talks on financial cooperation after signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Cross-Strait Banking Supervision Cooperation in 2009.
The Wall Street Journal 15/4/2011
Taiwan, China Jump in Tech Ranking
Taiwan is almost as technologically capable as the United States, according to a report released by the World Economic Forum and INSEAD on Tuesday in New York.
China, which was at 59th position five years ago and is currently at position 36 ...
See Kaixin's - CHINA & TAIWAN
What Taiwan Can Teach Facebook About China
As speculation swirls over whether Facebook Inc. plans to open shop in mainland China, the site’s explosive growth in Taiwan shows the opportunity and difficulties presented by an entry into the Chinese market.
China Daily 14/4/2011
Cross-Straits military exchange important: mainland
BEIJING- A Chinese mainland spokesman on Wednesday reiterated the significance of cross-Straits contact on military issues.
Yang Yi, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks at a press conference when asked to comment on a white paper regarding China's national defense issued last month.
The white paper said the two sides of the Taiwan Straits can liaise and have exchanges on military issues at an appropriate time and talk about a military security mechanism of mutual trust.
'Mainland workers' rights should be protected'
BEIJING - A senior labor union leader in Taiwan is urging Taiwanese enterprises that have invested in the mainland to better protect workers' rights.
"Enterprises from Taiwan should adhere to the mainland's labor laws to guarantee that workers' rights are well-protected," Huang Ho Tsai-feng, director general of the Taiwan-based Cross-Straits Labor Development and Exchange Association, told China Daily at the sidelines of the 2011 Cross-Straits Labor Union Forum.
China Daily 7/4/2011
Changing Taiwan Communities: Xizhou - VIDEO
The residents of Xizhou originally came from eastern Taiwan to the Taipei region as migrant workers, and built their houses in this riverfront area, which was unoccupied then.
CCTV 6/4/2011
CCTV Interview with Wu Po-Hsiung on cross-strait ties VIDEO
In an exclusive interview, KMT honorary chairman Wu Po-Hsiung has told CCTV NEWS why he believes Cross-Strait ties are the best they've been in recent years.
CCTV Studio discussion: Future of cross-strait relations VIDEO
For more on how Taiwan residents have been spending the Qingming Festival, we're now joined by our Current Affairs Commentator, Raymond Zhou, who's a columnist at the China Daily Newspaper. Hello Mr. Zhou.
Q1: Recently, we've seen an increasing number of Taiwan residents enjoying holidays on the mainland. The number soared to 5.14 million people last year. What's the reason for this increase?
Q2: As grassroots exchanges continue to develop, what do you foresee in the future of Cross-Strait relations?
Asia Times Online 5/4/2011
Taiwan's trade pact critics too quick off their mark
By Jens Kastner
Critics of a trade pact between Taiwan and mainland China claim a recent government-commissioned report backs their warnings that the agreement would hurt the island's industries. The report's lead author retorts that the findings indicate no such thing.
Taiwan's politicians in the crosshairs
By Jens Kastner
With security checks in Taiwan more stringent for getting into a nightclub than a political event, politicians are vulnerable to attacks such as the attempt on the lives of the president and his deputy in 2004 that caused a political furor. Politicians, however, remain unwilling to demand better protection, and despite a shooting last year, tighter security is just not part of the culture.
