To avoid being a lame duck is the one major task looming for President Chen Shui-bian (
Should the people of Taiwan see no major achievements in Chen's second term in office, it would have repercussions for the presence of a pro-Taiwan government in the 2008 presidential election, the former president said in an exclusive interview with the Taipei Times.
"Chen needs to take into account that should he become a lame duck during the remaining three and half years he has in office, it would draw criticism from the Taiwanese people, who would find the Chen Shui-bian administration unsatisfactory in that it has accomplished nothing major in terms of governance during Chen's eight years as president," Lee said.
"Should that be the case, then it would have a bearing on the continuing existence of a pro-Taiwan regime and jeopardize its chances in the 2008 presidential election," he said.
In view of mounting talks about cooperation between the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the People First Party (PFP), Lee said, from his perspective as a civilian, he looked forward to reconciliation between the governing and opposition parties.
However, the DPP administration ought not to give the premiership to the PFP if it considered forming a coalition Cabinet with the party, Lee said, stating that "it would be an irresponsible move to give the PFP the premiership ? it will not be good."
In terms of Taiwan's relations with the US, Lee said that Taiwan could work to foster ties with the US through many different ways, including communication between the governments, establishing private exchanges and strengthening interaction with US think tanks as well as parliamentary groups.
Communication is important, Lee said, "so you don't leave the US government feeling that you don't tell them things, forcing them to revert to doing guesswork."
Commenting on China's plan to enact its "anti-secession law," Lee said the planned law "aims at scaring Taiwan's people" as well as "discouraging people from speaking up and speaking out for Taiwan independence."
While the content of the proposed law is yet unknown, Lee said China is selling this law to those countries that recognized China's allegation that Taiwan was part of the mainland and telling them that once the law has been enacted, they should help Beijing catch Taiwan independence advocates.
With that said, Lee stressed that "Taiwan is not part of China's territory," noting that Taiwan "needs not always operate to accommodate whatever China does or say."
Referring to the recent agreement with China on direct charter flight during the Lunar New Year holidays, Lee wondered whether this mode of cross-strait links best demonstrate international links. Going via Hong Kong seemed more like a domestic link., He said. It would have been better to route the flights via Japan, he said.
When dealing with China, one should be mindful not to fall prey to its trickery and sell out Taiwan in the process, Lee said.
On economic issues, the former president noted that there is no need for the NT Dollar to rise in value as long as China's currency does not do so.
A strong yuan will impose robust operating costs on export-oriented Taiwanese contractors operating in China, nullifying their efforts to seek cheaper production, he said.
"To a certain extent, it may be good in a way that these China-based Taiwanese businesses would start coming back to Taiwan," Lee said.
Lee also said he was eager to visit Japan again in the hope that he could experience the journey of the famous Okunohosomichi (奧之細道).
"If one says that Bushido is the traditional Japanese values of the samurai, who once ruled Japan, then the Okunohosomichi undoubtedly symbolizes Japanese attitude toward life," Lee said.
Lee said, along the route, there are many temples, in which [buddhist monks] are chanting Haiku.
"I really like to visit those temples, if my health allows me in future," Lee said.
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.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
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