Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday expressed regret over French President Jacques Chirac's opposition to Taiwan's referendum agenda and reiterated that Taiwan will not flinch under China's suppression nor change its resolve to hold its first national referendum.
"We feel sorry about President Chirac's remarks and call on the international community to respect our democratic development," Lin said. "I'd like to remind the French government not to forget about the efforts made by former French president Charles de Gaulle to push for direct democracy some 40 years ago. The campaign was criticized as a mutiny back then but was later proved to be a direct decision."
Lin also lambasted China, who he said has shamelessly used monetary incentives to influence other countries' opinions, continuously attempted to interfere with this nation's domestic affairs, sway the upcoming presidential poll and suppress the nation's diplomatic space.
"The crux of the problem lies in China and its opposition to the proposed `peace referendum' only proves that it's not only necessary but also urgent to hold the referendum," Lin said.
"It may claim victory on the diplomatic front but its opposition to the `peace referendum' only shows its anti-democracy attitude," Lin said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also expressed "deep regrets" over Chirac's remarks concerning the referendum and protested China's pressuring other countries.
Calling France "the oldest democracy in the world," ministry spokesman Richard Shih (
The ministry appealed to international society not to bow to China's pressure to make "anti-democracy and anti-peace statements," Shih said.
Shih, noting France itself has held nine referendums on domestic and foreign issues since the establishment of the Fifth Republic in 1958, said France should have understood that referendum is a means to deepen democracy.
The French revolution and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen in 1789 were crucial steps in the development of Western democracy, he said.
"France's democratic tradition has long been revered by other countries ? France, viewing democracy as its fundamental belief and value, should understand that democracy has never been a factor to destabilize peace," Shih said.
Before Hu's visit to Paris, the ministry realized Chirac was prepared to voice public opposition to Taiwan's referendum and it tried to dissuade the French government from doing so, according to Shih.
He said Chiou Jong-nan (
The ministry is still assessing the impact of Chirac's statement, Shih said, adding that China's attempt to gather "international pressure to influence Taiwan's presidential election" hurt the feelings of the Taiwanese people.
Shih appealed to the international community to demand China show its sincerity about improving relations with Taiwan and maintain regional peace by dismantling its missiles and renouncing the use of force against Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Lo Fu-chen (羅福全), representative of the Taipei Eco-nomic and Cultural Office in Japan, said Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has harmed Taiwan in its handling of the referendum issue.
According to Lo, the Japanese ministry issued two different explanations of Taiwan's referendum plan to its parliament and Japanese reporters based in Taipei.
The Japanese foreign ministry then issued a third version explaining its stance on the referendum while communicating with the Presidential Office over the issue, Lo said.
In presenting the version to the Japanese Diet, the ministry stated it had told Beijing that it hoped the "Taiwan problem" can be solved through peaceful means and that it opposes the use of force against Taiwan, Lo said.
However, in explaining its stance on the referendum to the Presidential Office, the ministry deliberately omitted its opposition to China's use of force against Taiwan.
Lo described the omission as an "incorrect and dishonest" act.
Shih said Lo had revealed the Japanese ministry's improper handling of the referendum issue in order to urge the Japanese government to adopt a neutral attitude toward the issue.
"Lo did not mean to criticize the Japanese government," Shih said.
Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling(STAFF REPORTER)
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
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS