President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen's warning came one day after Chinese President Hu Jintao (
The transfer has led some people in this country to express the hope that Hu -- regarded as a moderate in comparison to his predecessors -- might take a less hard-line approach toward Taiwan.
"National security is in our own hands," Chen said while meeting model military personnel at the Presidential Office yesterday.
"We should never engage in wishful thinking, expect the enemy's goodwill or assistance from outsiders," he said.
"Although Jiang Zemin has resigned his position as military chief commander, we can never to harbor fantasies or have unrealistic expectations," Chen said.
"Only by constructing a firm and substantial defense can we prevent the enemy's sneaky attempts to attack us," the president said. "Only by deepening our feeling of unity can we consolidate our democracy, constitutional order and economic prosperity."
Chen warmed that China has a three-pronged strategy to destabilize Taiwan -- psychological warfare, use of the media and using its legal system to enact an unification law that would define Taiwan as a "special political region" under its jurisdiction.
During Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's (
"In view of the seriousness of Communist China's attempts to legalize its military forces against Taiwan, all military personnel and our compatriots should remain vigilant and alert," Chen said.
``Fearing war won't avoid or stop a war. The best way to avoid a war is to be prepared for a war,'' he said.
The nation needs to build up the military and buy arms, Chen said, not to have an arm race with China but in order to be prepared, to strengthen its security and protect its democratic achievements.
Meanwhile in Beijing, Jiang yesterday urged his successors to continue his policy of using military threat to persuade Taiwan to accept unification with China, state television said.
"Resolutely do not make a commitment to give up the use of force," Jiang was quoted as saying in a speech to Hu and others at the first meeting of the expanded 11-member Military Commission.
"This is a major political principle," he said. "Reunification is the big cause of the country."
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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
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
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.
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