The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) today asked participants in today's protest against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (
The TSU and other pro-independence groups will demonstrate at CKS International Airport, where Lien will leave for China today.
TSU Secretary-General Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘) said the party said it had learned that gangsters and Chinese spies might infiltrate the protest to try to stir up violence. In order to avoid riots, the party urged protesters to remain peaceful and reasonable.
PHOTO: SONG CHIH-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"If our information is true, it echoes rumors about China's fifth column," Chen said. "China's spies have come to Taiwan."
Chen called on people who are going to join the protest not to bring eggs or other items that could lead to serious conflict. The TSU asked participants to put green paper on their windshields so that police can spot them easily and direct them to the parking lot next to the airport's second terminal, which is the gathering place for the protesters.
Chen said about 50 tour buses full of protesters will join today's demonstration. With a counter-protest also planned by the New Party, he called on the government to help keep the situation under control.
Meanwhile, the TSU's spiritual leader, former president Lee Teng-hui (
"A party often claims that it is a party that always support reforms -- you know which party I'm talking about," Lee said. "However, judging from the current situation, that party has already tilted toward China."
Lee also blamed the government for its low-key attitude toward the trips by Lien and other opposition leaders to China, saying he was disappointed that the government has kept silent about unjust matters.
In contrast to the TSU and other pro-independence groups, DPP Secretary-General Lee Yi-yang (
"We do not support the protests. We don't encourage our members to throw eggs or cause conflict on this occasion. We hope that people stay peaceful and reasonable," Lee Yi-yang said.
As for Lien's trip to China, Lee Yi-yang called on Lien to represent the "reality" of Taiwan during his travels.
"About 90 percent of Taiwanese people voiced their opposition to Beijing's `Anti-Secession' Law, and since Lien has said that he values `reality,' he has to represent this reality to China," Lee Yi-yang said. "The reality in the Taiwan Strait is that Taiwan and China are not under the same jurisdiction and the Republic of China [ROC] is an independent nation."
"The so-called `peace agreement' or `cessation of war between the KMT and CCP' that Lien referred to this morning all involve the government's authority and a change to the country's future," Lee Yi-yang said. "Lien should clearly know that he is not empowered to make any verbal commitments or written agreements [with China]."
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS