The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) held a national congress yesterday to endorse the party's presidential campaign ticket featuring President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮).
Addressing the convention, staged as a gala-like campaign event, Chen raised three questions he would like to put to Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤):
? Why can't Taiwan and China go their separate ways since they have antithetical political systems?
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
? Why can't China dismantle its missiles used to intimidate democratic Taiwan?
? And why can't Taiwan enter the World Health Organization?
"If the Beijing authorities can't provide answers to these questions, I believe the people of Taiwan will give their own answers on March 20," Chen said, reiterating his stance to hold a "defensive referendum" on the same day as the election.
Chen said that it was not his desire to hold a referendum which was the destabilizing factor in the region, but China's attempts to intimidate Taiwan, its missile build up and its refusal to renounce the use of force.
"It is China's military threat that would change the cross-strait status quo, not Taiwan's democratic practice of holding a referendum."
Chen stressed that the referendum was not intended to be provocative, but to safeguard Taiwan's security and that it would certainly not be cancelled as a result of threats by China.
"No matter how hegemonic China is and how much pressure Taiwan faces from such a power, Taiwan must insist on following the path of democracy," Chen said.
Speaking in his capacity as the DPP's flag-bearer, Chen yesterday also pledged to conduct a "fair, positive, and quality" campaign.
He also said he was willing to reconcile with the opposition parties, after a long period of inter-party feuding, for the sake of political harmony after the election.
"It is foreseeable that after the election next year, the domestic political situation is bound to have a new look due to the reintegration of party elements. The DPP is willing to attempt reconciliation with supporters of all political stripes to allay the negative effects of election feuding," Chen said.
The DPP's national congress yesterday also honored a total of 626 senior party members for their contribution to the process of Taiwan's democratization.
To gear up full support for Chen's re-election, seven counties and municipalities yesterday convened a campaign meeting prior to the national congress, with each administrative unit pledging to increase the DPP's total vote by 10 percentage points compared with the 2000 presidential election.
In Chiayi County yesterday, former President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) extended his support for Chen's reelection bid and vowed to mobilize one million people on Feb. 28 for an island-wide rally.
Lee made the comments at the establishment of the Taiwan Solidarity Union's (TSU) Chiayi County Chapter. Lee founded the TSU in 2001, which has since become a strategic partner of the DPP.
Later yesterday the DPP staged a 100,000-people rally in Taipei County's Erchung Waterfront Park.
Chen and Lu, as well as the DPP's five major campaign leaders -- Premier Yu Shyi-kun, Presidential Secretary General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁), Taipei County Magistrate Su Chen-chang (蘇貞昌), Kaohsiung City Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and DPP Secretary General Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) -- all attended the rally.
Also See Stories:
Taiwanese shouldn't be pessimistic: Lu
Strong personality the making of Lu
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS