Taiwan calls on China to end hostility, restore peace: MAC chief

Taipei, Oct. 19 (CNA) Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) on Friday called on China to end its hostility toward Taiwan and help restore peace and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait.

“We hope China can reverse its hostile and confrontational thinking…and join us (Taiwan) in ushering a new era of reform and cross-strait relations,” Chen said in his opening speech at an international conference on “Mainland China’s Reform and Opening Up, 1978-2018: Prospect and Challenge.”

Maintaining the status quo is a joint responsibility, but recently China has been trying to disrupt cross-strait exchanges and upsetting the stable relations between the two sides, he said.

“This has gone beyond the tolerance of all major political parties and people of Taiwan. And it is unacceptable to the international community,” he said.

The country will never back down or act rashly to escalate confrontation, because maintaining the status quo is still the greatest common denominator among the Taiwanese people, Chen explained.

Taiwan’s most cherished assets are its democratic system and values, and the country will go all out to defend its interests, he said.

Noting that this year is the 40th anniversary of China’s launch of market-based economic reforms, the MAC chief hoped that Chinese leaders could replicate their country’s economic success with reforms that embrace democracy and abandon totalitarianism and dictatorship.

Taiwan is willing to share its experience of transformation with China to promote mutual advancement and development, Chen said.

(By Miao Zong-han and Ko Lin)
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