The Presidential Office yesterday said a statement by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) warning of a referendum to gauge opposition to Beijing's proposed anti-secession law was just an option, and aimed at expressing anger over its possible introduction.
"What the president said did not mean the government is going to hold a referendum to oppose the anti-secession law right away," Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General James Huang (
Huang was referring to remarks made by Chen in an interview published in Japan's Mainichi Shimbun on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Chen yesterday called for the nation to stand up to the proposed law.
"The enactment of the anti-secession bill would undermine the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, and Taiwan should react to it," Chen said during an inspection of a military facility in Pingtung County yesterday.
In the interview with the Mainichi Shimbun, Chen said the anti-secession bill would likely prompt his government to introduce a law against annexation.
"The government is also likely to hold a referendum to make clear that the Taiwanese oppose such a law," he said. "The referendum would take place at the same time as the National Assembly elections in May for amending the Constitution."
But Chen said his plan for a new constitution was not promoting independence.
"There is no need for people to worry about it," he said. "Since there is no consensus on issues regarding sovereignty, territory, unification and independence in Taiwan, adopting a new constitution will have nothing to do with promoting Taiwan's independence," he told the paper.
In Pingtung, Chen called the proposed law the biggest threat to regional stability and peace.
Chen said Beijing had been actively engaging in "psychological, legal and media warfare" toward Taiwan and that the Tai-wanese public should take the problem seriously and respond accordingly.
He said that Chinese military power had been growing for decades and that the People's Liberation Army's budget had been growing by double-digit figures every year, which concerned neighbors in the Asia-Pacific.
"A country that relies too much on other countries will fail in war," Chen said.
Also see story:
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
RSS