A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) delegation that will travel to China on Monday should use the opportunity to relay Taiwan's anger over the "Anti Secession" Law to the Chinese leadership, Premier Frank Hsieh (
"It is not appropriate for me to comment on lawmakers' behavior, but I believe that lawmakers will not do something stupid to jeopardize their own reputation and credibility," Hsieh said in the legislature, responding to a question raised by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) about whether KMT Legislator Chiang Pin-kun (江丙坤) picked a good time to visit China.
Despite a rally against the "Anti Secession" Law that is scheduled for this afternoon, Chiang, who is also a KMT vice chairman, is planning to lead a delegation of KMT members to China on Monday.
Hsieh was giving an administrative briefing at the Legislative Yuan yesterday.
"It is OK for him [Chiang] to visit China but I hope that he would help deliver a message on behalf of the Taiwanese people as well, so that Chinese officials will be able to hear our voice clearly and directly -- we are totally opposed to the Anti Secession Law," Hsieh said.
"Some people protest here, some people visit there. It is all for Taiwan's good. I have no problem with that," he said.
Chiang was not present at the meeting yesterday, so lawmakers asked whether Hsieh will meet with him and ask him to forward a message to Chinese officials.
"I think he has heard us at this moment by watching us through the closed-circuit video in his office," Hsieh said.
According to the schedule announced by the KMT last Tuesday, Chiang will be leading a delegation to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing and the Mausoleum of the 72 Martyrs in Guangzhou between Monday and April 1.
In the meantime, Yeh Yi-ching (
"Currently, the law does not clearly regulate what kind of activities will be regarded as promoting Taiwan's independence. We need to take advantage of the rally to seek international support. With such support, we can press [Chinese officials] to clarify the grey areas," Hsieh answered. "Otherwise, they will be able to make all kinds of excuses to make a military strike against us any time they want."
KMT Legislator Yang Li-hung (
Hsieh told her that government officials are also Taiwanese citizens, and have the right to speak out. He encouraged his fellow government officials to do so, but he said he did not encourage them to lead the crowd.
"It is everybody's responsibility to do something for the country, including government officials," Hsieh said. "Taking part in the rally is only a sign that we are with the people, instead of leading a protest."
Regarding safety concerns, the premier said that the National Security Bureau will be in charge of protecting the president. In addition, the heads of major security-related offices, including the Ministry of Justice, the Bureau of Investigation, local police departments and the National Police Agency will be on duty to respond to any kind of emergency.
"No problem at all," the premier 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,”
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
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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