Taiwan's Ma denies China reunification drift

[ZhangFei]

TAIPEI (AFP) — A spokesman for Taiwan's China-friendly president Ma Ying-jeou on Wednesday dismissed suggestions that the island was drifting towards reunification with the mainland.

Wang Yu-chi said the president believed in maintaining "the status quo" under which the two territories are ruled separately, unless a majority of islanders vote for change.

The spokesman's comments came after Ma was quoted in a recent interview with Taipei-based CommonWealth magazine as saying he would not "rule out" the pursuit of a unified China.

The remarks sparked speculation that Ma was moving toward Beijing's goal of reunification, 60 years after the two sides split at the end of a bitter civil war.

But Wang on Wednesday said the comments had been taken out of context.

"What he was trying to say was that Taiwan's future should be voted on by the 23 million people here," he told reporters.

"Like a great majority of the locals, he wants to sustain the status quo of the Taiwan Strait," he said.

Ma has repeatedly pledged that during his tenure he would not press for either reunification or formal independence, while stressing that both sides should avoid the use of force to solve the decades-old dispute.

Beijing's official stance on self-governing Taiwan is that the island is part of China awaiting full reunification, by force if necessary.

However, ties between the two sides have improved dramatically since Ma came to power last year promising to promote reconciliation and trade links, in marked contrast to his predecessor, Chen Shui-ban, whose regular pro-independence rhetoric irked Beijing.

In recent months Taipei and Beijing have signed a raft of agreements that have led to regular direct flights and greater cooperation across the Taiwan strait.

source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...72QvEfJz1_cHZw

[q0192837465]

Taiwanese ppl need to get their heads outta their asses. Unifying w/ China is good for their economy

[ZhangFei]

that Chinese flag in the end was a pretty nice touch eh?

[ilvtofu]

^don't say taiwanese ppl, that's highly racist, Although I know lots that don't like mainlanders, you shouldn't make a general statement like that, but I do agree with you, Taiwan is just so...

[+Kardboard+]

...drift?

[skyxx]

In a few hundred years, Taiwan will slowly drift to china and link both countries together anyways.

[AlanW]

I don't think the issue is about economy or how it's going to benefit us. It's pretty ignorant to think that its just based on what we can gain from this unification...

A lot of this also has to deal with the culture and trying to set right what Kissinger did wrong (giving up the democratic foundations that the US was built upon in order to gain respect/support from the Chinese to counter the USSR). It's not an issue of how much we'd gain from it. Everyone knows that it's a good economic move but that shouldn't be the only factor that comes into play.

A lot of people claim all this stuff about how China and Taiwan are the same and how the cultures are the same and everything. Sure, but so it Canada and the US and they are separate entities. Culture, language, way of life, any way you want to put it, should not by itself determine the sovereignty of a nation.

If you really understand the history, then you know that if anything, the Japanese own the island, since the Treaty of Shimonoseki specifically states, and the Chinese signed this though they deny it, that China cede Taiwan along with a lot of other land that was overtaken by them to Japan, in perpetuity. Not 99 years or the typical number they give for these international contracts, but in perpetuity, as in forever. The only obstacle that the treaty has encountered since its signing in 1895 is the San Fran Peace Treaty, which says that Japan has to give up ownership of the island and leave it up to the charters of the UN to determine the sovereignty of "Formosa". Based on the charter of the UN, it is then concluded that the sovereignty of the island should be left up to the people to decide in a democratic fashion, based on the principles of self-determination. We have done so by electing our own presidents and maintaining our own government.

I'm not trying to start any big fight or anything here though I'm open to lots of interpretations. I was skeptical about all the hatred and animosity between true pro-independence people and pro-unification people way back when I had not chosen to research the topic, but upon doing research and educating myself, I can now sort of understand why because history can explain itself.

Went on a bit of a rant there, but mehhh!! Shameless plug: someone interested in buying my Scion tC RS4? haha

[Carl Johnson]

lol...

[twitchyzero]

alanw those are some good points. however i think if the treaty of SF was truly followed..taiwan would be the 52nd state of USA.

good for you for researching though..most RS members just post bullshit that they hear in the news..some like to do it in the form of a flying communist flag

[Hehe]

Fucx China, although I have dual citizenship and I've spent way more time outside than in TW, I still feel proud of being a Taiwanese.

The day the unification happens, I am burning my Taiwanese passport and any other ID I have.

China and Taiwan just have too much in difference to be treated or even becoming a country together.

I am not talking like Canada vs. Quebec's situation, but culturally and development-wise, we are totally different than China. Why wouldn't China leaves Taiwan alone, I have no idea.

[ZhangFei]

^ There is no one culture in the mainland. China is a heterogeneous country.

[AlanW]

I think a large part of this all is the fact that I call my self Taiwanese, more so than Canadian (I have dual citizenship though I was born and raised up in Taiwan). I feel proud to call myself Taiwanese and I feel proud to have that identity. To take that away from me would be very, very uncalled for. I have nothing against people being proud of China though. Just like me, people that are patriotic towards China are very proud to be able to call themselves Chinese (just look at all the things Chinese people have accomplished). But to take that away from them would be unnecessary as well. The same applies for us Taiwanese.