The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday accused former Tuntex chairman Chen Yu-hao (
DPP campaign spokesperson Wu Nai-jen (
"This is hard evidence that Chen is indeed a tool of China to sway the election," Wu said.
Wu said that China has long tried to help nurture a pro-Beijing political power in Taiwan and to achieve that, it has used all possible means to influence the results of Taiwan's presidential elections.
Wu said China failed in 1996 and 2000 to defeat the presidential candidates it disliked through military exercises and intimidating rhetoric. In this year's election, he said, China has used various methods to try to prevent President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) re-election.
First, Wu said, China has allowed the pan-blue Taiwanese businesspeople in that country to publicly campaign for the pan-blue presidential ticket. It has also helped with the mobilization of Taiwanese businesspeople to return home to vote for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Second, he said, China has labeled Chen a "separatist" for trying to undermine its "one China" principle by holding a referendum.
Third, he said, it has used such threatening rhetoric as "the referendum will lead to a war across the Taiwan Strait" and "China's ballistic missiles are no threat to Taiwan."
Fourth, Wu said, China has tried to use the reports of the arrests of alleged Taiwanese spies and accusations made by Chen Yu-hao to attack the president.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
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