“But to let the people know in such a hasty and chaotic manner is damaging to Taiwan’s democracy”, she added, according to Taiwan ET Today television station. Beijing still officially considers Taiwan a renegade province that should be reunified with the mainland.
Advertisement
DPP spokesman Cheng Yun-peng said the timing of the meeting was suspect.
A few said that could backfire given increasing anti-China protests in Taiwan, especially among the young.
She was a minister in charge of developing policy toward mainland China under the previous administration, which angered Beijing by trying to work towards formal independence.
While closer ties with Beijing have brought trade pacts and a tourism boom, many voters feel big business has benefited, rather than ordinary Taiwanese people. “This is his page in history”, said Willy Lam, an adjunct-professor at the Center for China Studies at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
His decision to meet with his Taiwanese counterpart, President Ma Ying-jeou, in Singapore on Saturday, is the latest example of his determination to be personally involved in major political decisions.
“Japan has maintained the stance that the issues over Taiwan should be solved peacefully through direct dialogue between the two parties”, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference on Wednesday.
“This will be tricky politically in Taiwan, as the opposition will obviously use this to charge Ma and the Nationalists with kowtowing to Beijing”, said Alan Romberg, East Asia programme director with think-tank the Stimson Centre.
Taiwan retains its official name “Republic of China”, along with a constitution that defines its territory as encompassing all of mainland China.
The office in charge of Taiwan relations in Beijing said in a brief statement that the two leaders would exchange views on promoting developments during a long scheduled two-day visit of Xi to Singapore, a country that has good relations with both sides.
“It should be helpful for the stabilisation of the region”, he told the Apple Daily.
Chinese state media have said the two will not address one another as president during the meeting, and instead call one another “Mister”.
The meeting came about after Chinese and Taiwanese officials met in the Chinese city of Guangzhou last month. Taiwan’s opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) favors the recognition of the PRC as a sovereign country. While economic and social gaps between the two were narrowing, their political differences remained wide, he said. MA will hold a news briefing on Thursday, the presidential office said.
Advertisement
“This is a pragmatic arrangement made in accordance with the one-China principle under the situation where the political dispute across the Taiwan Strait has yet to be resolved”, Zhang added.
