The nation's leaders celebrated the Lunar New Year yesterday by visiting temples, but nevertheless made a few comments about next year's presidential election.
President Chen Shui-bian (
However, well-wishers were disappointed by the absence of first lady Wu Shu-jen (
Chen and Wu have faithfully followed the precedent set by former president Lee Teng-hui (
This year's red envelopes were a little bit different: Instead of a picture of the lunar animal of the year, they were emblazoned simply with the word "Taiwan."
Each envelope contained a NT$10 coin and a picture of a little girl putting a coin into a piggy bank to welcome the Year of the Pig.
Thousands of people line up every year for the chance to receive a red envelope from the president. Many stake out a spot in line days ahead of time by placing a stool or a chair in their place.
Chen Chao-shou (陳朝壽) of Taipei County was the first person to receive a red envelope from the president yesterday. He said he had camped outside the president's parents' home for about a week.
Last year, Chen Chao-shou engaged in a shoving match with another person in line, who insisted that he had been first.
Later, President Chen treated villagers to fried rice noodles and fish ball soup before going to Tai-tien Temple in Matou (
Before traveling to Tainan, President Chen and Lu visited a number of temples, including Huei-an Temple in Kuantien and Taipei's Pao-an and Hsing-tien temples.
When approached by the media in Taipei, Lu was less ambiguous than before about her election plans and admitted that she is in the process of consulting with her advisers.
Lu said she was not surprised by mounting speculation that Democratic Progressive Party Chairman Yu Shyi-kun would soon announce his intention to run in the presidential race and wished him good luck.
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Ma Ying-jou (
Ma, who announced his intention to run in the presidential election on Tuesday, said that he had not yet selected a running mate.
Responding to a question, Ma said he would not feel "awkward" when meeting with Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) today.
The two have developed a strong rivalry since competing in the KMT's chairperson election last year. Wang is expected to announce his presidential bid after the Lunar New Year holiday.
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS