By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Taiwan should seize the opportunity presented by Japan’s recent removal of a ban on collective self-defense and seek to upgrade bilateral relations on economic and security cooperation, a think tank said yesterday.
“As a think tank, we support Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s removal of the ban on collective self-defense rights because it benefits Taiwan’s security,” Taiwan Brain Trust executive director Liu Shih-chung (劉世忠) told a symposium.
TAXING PROBLEM:：DPP officials said that although the letter did show that Ma lost his resident status, it proved that he lied about an issue that has plagued him for years
By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff reporter
Fri, May 16, 2014 - Page 1
The Presidential Office yesterday displayed a letter from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) that it said proved President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) voided his status as a permanent US resident by renouncing his “green card,” but critics pointed out that the statement was inconsistent with Ma’s previous claims that since his green card had “expired, it was invalidated automatically.”
Presidential Office spokesperson Lee Chia-fei (李佳霏) called a news conference yesterday to show the letter from Joseph Donovan, managing director of the AIT’s Washington office, addressed to Taiwanese Representative to the US Shen Lyu-shun (沈呂巡) and dated May 14.
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The opposition yesterday blasted President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) reported holding of US permanent residence status, saying that Ma has been lying about the issue and should step down over what it described as his lack of integrity.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) both said Ma has lost his legitimacy to govern after being found to be evading taxes as a holder of US permanent residence status, which was reported by the Chinese-language Next Magazine yesterday.
POISON PEN?：David Brown said in a letter to a US newsletter the party supports the student protesters because it ‘suits the DPP’s election mobilization goals’
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Tue, Apr 01, 2014 - Page 3
A letter by an American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) board member alleging that the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) motive in supporting the “illegal occupation” of the legislature by the so-called “Sunflower student movement” is for political gains in upcoming elections, and which challenges as undemocratic the party’s history of physically blocking legislative proceedings, has raised discussion in political circles and the media.
David Brown, a professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and former US foreign service officer, wrote the letter to the Nelson Report, a Washington daily newsletter, in response to a letter by DPP Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), which was also published in the newsletter.
TAIPEI FORUM:：Academia Sinica research fellow Lin Cheng-yi said US academics appear increasingly worried about Washington’s ‘abandonment’ of Taiwan and ‘Finlandization’
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Sat, Mar 15, 2014 - Page 3
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday called for a wide-ranging upgrade of relations with the US and urged US President Barack Obama to reiterate Washington’s position under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) when he visits Asia next month.
It would be imperative for the US to reaffirm its commitment to Asia-Pacific allies, in particular Taiwan, DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said at a forum in Taipei on Taiwan’s role in the US’ rebalancing strategy in Asia against the backdrop of the 35th anniversary of the enactment of the TRA and the ninth anniversary of the introduction of China’s “Anti-Secession” Law.
ANNIVERSARY:：A visiting delegation raised other issues including the nation’s defensive capabilities, its possible inclusion in the TPP and Chen Shui-bian’s health
By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff reporter
Fri, Feb 21, 2014 - Page 3
The head of a visiting US bipartisan congressional delegation has highlighted the importance of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and promised to work on deepening Taiwan-US relations.
US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce yesterday vowed to propose legislation to reaffirm the act in the House of Representatives before April 10, the date the law was enacted in 1979, to highlight the importance of the law to Taiwan-US relations.
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) recent sense of urgency about joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and his deliberate linking of the TPP and the completion of the cross-strait service trade agreement had a political agenda behind them and Ma has completely “missed the point” of Taiwan’s pursuit of joining regional economic integration, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
After saying two-and-a-half years ago that Taiwan would try to join the TPP in eight years, Ma has suddenly changed his tune on the issue, saying on Jan. 1 that Taiwan should join the agreement “as soon as possible” and organized a series of seminars for Taiwanese diplomats this week on the topic.
Tue, Jan 21, 2014 - Page 8
Asked about the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) China policy in an interview with Radio Taiwan International last week, DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) responded with two concepts: “Seagull on the beach” and “China plus one.”
Su said the cross-strait relationship should be like “a seagull on the beach” because “a man on a beach should learn how to watch a seagull and appreciate its beauty from a distance. If he tried to catch it, it would fly away.” He also urged Beijing to create a “China plus one” situation by stopping the oppression of Taipei’s international space and respecting it in bilateral engagements, so that both sides could coexist in the international community.
MAINTAINING STABILITY:The DPP chairman underlined the importance of all countries in the Asia-Pacific region working together to lower tensions and avoiding conflict
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) met American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond Burghardt yesterday to discuss the party’s China policy and the recent escalation of regional tensions due to China’s demarcation of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the DPP said.
Burghardt, who arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for a five-day visit, met with Su at the DPP headquarters for a 60-minute closed-door meeting, according to a press release issued by the party.
QUESTION OF APPROACH:：A former US State Department official said the key issue about the zone is governments in the region approaching disputes through dialogue
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Thu, Dec 05, 2013 - Page 3
Taiwan’s handling of Beijing’s demarcation of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) is not a matter of choosing between the US-Japan alliance and China, and President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration’s call for resolving the dispute through dialogue is welcome, former US deputy secretary of state James Steinberg said yesterday.
“It is a question of all the governments in the region trying to reach and approach their disputes with dialogues and discussions” despite differences of opinion about sovereignty and territory, Steinberg said in response to a media inquiry.
SOVEREIGNTY:The Ma government should demand that China abolish the air defense identification zone in order to restore peace and stability to the region, the party said
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Taiwan should seek to work with its democratic allies Japan, the US, South Korea and ASEAN members in the face of rising tensions in the East China Sea following Beijing’s demarcation of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Saturday, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
Taiwanese airlines should not submit their flight plans to Beijing as it has requested, it added.
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Taiwan can only break free from Beijing’s military threat and containment of its international space with stronger national defense and value-based diplomacy due to changing political dynamics and the positions of China and the US, academics said yesterday.
At a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-organized forum on cross-strait relations and regional security, experts said that although Washington remained Taiwan’s main ally, it has become harder for the US to assist Taiwan in the event of Chinese aggression.
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Taiwan’s military and economic strategic significance should not be underestimated as cross-strait relations have a serious impact not only in Asia, but the rest of the world, former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) director William Stanton said in Taipei yesterday.
China is interested in Taiwan because of its geographic location in the first island chain, a key region for Chinese military projection and a strategically important area close to the East China Sea and the South China Sea, Stanton said.
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said it doubted the accuracy of media reports about American Institute in Taiwan Chairman (AIT) Raymond Burghardt’s remarks about the cross-strait service trade agreement, adding that it hoped that Washington would refrain from commenting on Taiwan’s domestic politics.
“We have taken notice of Burghardt’s remarks and believe that they were taken out of context in the reports,” said Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), the DPP’s representative to the US.
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Public opinion is divided on a meeting between Taiwan’s and China’s presidents and how Taiwan should react if the US reduces its arms sales, a poll showed yesterday.
Taiwan Indicator Survey Research (TISR) said 37.9 percent of respondents said Taiwan should buy fewer weapons from the US if China pledges to abandon the use of force against Taiwan.
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Sat, Aug 24, 2013 - Page 3
A seminar organized by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday questioned whether the foreign and cross-strait policies of the administration of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) were inconsistent — and if so, why.
“The DPP cannot place all the blame [for what it was unable to accomplish] on Beijing’s oppression and the Chinese Nationalist Party’s [KMT] majority in the legislature,” Foundation on Asia-Pacific Peace Studies president Chao Chun-shan (趙春山) told a panel discussion. “After all, tensions across the Taiwan Strait and deteriorating Taiwan-US relations were facts.”
FLYING HIGH:The DPP’s US representative is to pass on the party’s thanks after the US enacted a law supporting Taiwanese membership in certain international organizations
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday welcomed the announcement of US support for Taiwan’s participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
US President Barack Obama on Friday signed into law H.R. 1151, which commits Washington to full support of Taiwan’s membership of organizations where statehood is not a requirement.
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) 11-day visit to the US has been successful in consolidating Washington’s support of the party and relaying the party’s policies on various fronts in the US, DPP Representative to the US Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday after returning to Taiwan.
“We’re very happy with what we’ve achieved in Washington, where we met the people we wanted to meet and engaged in comprehensive discussions covering a wide range of topics,” Wu said at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday morning.
PRAGMATISM:The DPP chairman, who is visiting the US, laid out the party’s goals, including winning in the seven-in-one polls in 2014 and managing cross-strait ties
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will be pragmatic in handling domestic affairs and is capable of managing relations across the Taiwan Strait, DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) told Taiwanese-Americans in New York on Sunday, according to a DPP press release.
Su, who is visiting North America until Tuesday next week, also said in a speech at a dinner banquet that while some people are not happy with the nation’s current name, the Republic of China, as stipulated in the Constitution, “hopefully, someday we could engage the international community using the name Taiwan.”
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) began his 11-day visit yesterday in Los Angeles, California, expressing appreciation for the US’ arms sales to Taiwan, in an apparent reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) request that Washington cease the sales.
Xi raised the issue during his two-day informal summit with US President Barack Obama, which took place near Palm Springs, California, on Friday and Saturday.