|
Tsai reaffirms willingness to hold
talks with Beijing
By Vincent Y. Chao / Staff Reporter, with CNA
Democratic Progresive Party
Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen, center, has her photograph taken with supporters at
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday after returning from the
Philippines.
Photo: CNA
Seeking to assuage apprehensions about the
future of cross-strait relations, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson
and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (˝˛^¤ĺ) yesterday reaffirmed her partyˇ¦s
willingness to hold talks with Beijing.
Concluding a three-day visit to the Philippines, Tsai made the remarks during a
breakfast meeting with reporters.
The DPP, she said, was willing to sit down with China to discuss proposals for
building a ˇ§feasible and viableˇ¨ interaction framework between the two sides,
adding that the talks would not come at the expense of the DPPˇ¦s political
values and principles.
Tsai said she ˇ§welcomes [Chinese] officials to visit the DPPˇ¦s headquarters or
its think tank,ˇ¨ referring to the New Frontier Foundation, where recent talks
with foreign experts have been held.
ˇ§The DPPˇ¦s door is wide open with regards to China. We hope that through more
interaction we can increase our mutual knowledge of one another and lower to the
minimum any risks of a misunderstanding,ˇ¨ she said.
Tsai said that if the DPP regained the presidency next year, its cross-strait
policy would be more transparent and involve more input from the public.
The legislature would also be given a chance to monitor such agreements, she
said.
A former Mainland Affairs Council chairperson, Tsai also defended the
consistency of her China policies.
Critics have accused her of holding ideas that are less than pragmatic and
seeking to isolate Taiwan from Beijing, despite a booming Chinese market. She
has also been accused of being unclear on how the DPP would handle the Economic
Cooperation Framework Agreement, a trade deal signed with China in June last
year.
ˇ§I have always been very clear on how I handle cross-strait relations. Some
people believe that Iˇ¦m unclear only because they have purposely not closely
studied my [policies],ˇ¨ Tsai said.
Tsai also addressed the dispute over the Spratly Islands («n¨F¸s®q) ˇX the rich
fishing grounds claimed in part by Taiwan, China, Brunei, Vietnam, the
Philippines and Malaysia ˇX during her morning discussion.
Taiwan, she said, needed to make clear its separateness with China, especially
on sovereignty over the islands. She remained non-committal on whether Taiwan
should work together with its cross-strait neighbor to resolve sovereignty
disputes.
ˇ§Taiwan has its own motives on the Spratly Islands dispute ˇX and the basis of
that is Taiwanese sovereignty ˇX separate from China,ˇ¨ she said.
|
