Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan’s (連戰) office yesterday dismissed a report by The Associated Press (AP) that Beijing had chosen him as the recipient of the Confucius Peace Award and would award him the prize today.
“We’ve never heard of such an award and of course Mr Lien has no plans to accept it,” said Ting Yuan-chao (丁遠超), director and spokesman of Lien’s office.
The KMT yesterday also denied having any knowledge of the the award, but defended his contributions to cross-strait developments.
“The KMT is not aware of the news and it would be more appropriate to comment on the matter after we make sure there’s such an award and learn the details,” KMT Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said.
“Nonetheless, Mr Lien has made tremendous contributions to peaceful cross-strait relations,” he added.
In April 2005, Lien, a former vice president, became the first KMT chairman to visit China since 1949. He met Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) during what was described as an “ice-breaking” visit and initiated a regular communication platform for the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party.
Beijing offered Lien two giant pandas as a goodwill gift for Taiwan.
Lien developed even closer relations with top Chinese officials after stepping down as party chairman in August 2005.
The AP report said the award was first suggested by a Chinese tabloid last month as an answer to the Nobel Peace Prize won by Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波) for his struggle to implement democracy in China.
This became a reality three weeks later, as AP said it had received a statement from the committee confirming the award and the name of the honoree.
“Named after the famed philosopher, the new prize was created to interpret the viewpoints of peace of [the] Chinese [people], the awards committee said in a statement it released to the AP on Tuesday,” the report said.
The article also cited the chairman of the award committee, Tan Changliu (譚長流), as saying his group was not an official government body, but did work closely with the Chinese Ministry of Culture.
Lien, 75, was reportedly chosen from among a number of nominees, including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, former South African president Nelson Mandela, former US president Jimmy Carter, and the Beijing-appointed Panchen Lama, the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism.
The report quoted the award committee as saying that Lien was selected for “having built a bridge of peace between the mainland and Taiwan.”
Later yesterday, KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said Lien deserved the prize for his dedication to promoting cross-strait peace and avoiding conflict, adding that he should receive the prize in person.
“This is an honor. We are very happy for him,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Tsang-min (林滄敏) said in a telephone interview with the Taipei Times.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said the prize did not reflect what Confucius (孔子) would have wanted.
DPP spokesperson Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said that he was unaware of the news, but added that he did not believe the award should be taken seriously.
“I’m sure that if Confucius were alive today, he would have given the peace prize to Liu Xiaobo and not Lien Chan,” he said. “Confucius would have probably sided more with the Nobel Committee anyway.”
Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said he hadn’t heard of the award, but added that it sounded “weird,” saying it went against some of Confucius’ sayings.
“I guess I wish Lien all the best,” Hsieh said.
DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said Lien should use the opportunity to speak out and criticize Beijing over its treatment of Liu, who is serving a jail sentence for participating in the Charter 08 movement.
To do otherwise, Kuan said, would be an “affront to peace-loving people around the world.”
Additional reporting by Vincent Y. Chao, Flora Wang and CNA
CLASH OF WORDS: While China’s foreign minister insisted the US play a constructive role with China, Rubio stressed Washington’s commitment to its allies in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday affirmed and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio statements expressing the US’ “serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan” and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart. The ministry in a news release yesterday also said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated many fallacies about Taiwan in the call. “We solemnly emphasize again that our country and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and it has been an objective fact for a long time, as well as
‘CHARM OFFENSIVE’: Beijing has been sending senior Chinese officials to Okinawa as part of efforts to influence public opinion against the US, the ‘Telegraph’ reported Beijing is believed to be sowing divisions in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture to better facilitate an invasion of Taiwan, British newspaper the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Less than 750km from Taiwan, Okinawa hosts nearly 30,000 US troops who would likely “play a pivotal role should Beijing order the invasion of Taiwan,” it wrote. To prevent US intervention in an invasion, China is carrying out a “silent invasion” of Okinawa by stoking the flames of discontent among locals toward the US presence in the prefecture, it said. Beijing is also allegedly funding separatists in the region, including Chosuke Yara, the head of the Ryukyu Independence
‘VERY SHALLOW’: The center of Saturday’s quake in Tainan’s Dongshan District hit at a depth of 7.7km, while yesterday’s in Nansai was at a depth of 8.1km, the CWA said Two magnitude 5.7 earthquakes that struck on Saturday night and yesterday morning were aftershocks triggered by a magnitude 6.4 quake on Tuesday last week, a seismologist said, adding that the epicenters of the aftershocks are moving westward. Saturday and yesterday’s earthquakes occurred as people were preparing for the Lunar New Year holiday this week. As of 10am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) recorded 110 aftershocks from last week’s main earthquake, including six magnitude 5 to 6 quakes and 32 magnitude 4 to 5 tremors. Seventy-one of the earthquakes were smaller than magnitude 4. Thirty-one of the aftershocks were felt nationwide, while 79
MARITIME SECURITY: Of the 52 vessels, 15 were rated a ‘threat’ for various reasons, including the amount of time they spent loitering near subsea cables, the CGA said Taiwan has identified 52 “suspicious” Chinese-owned ships flying flags of convenience that require close monitoring if detected near the nation, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday, as the nation seeks to protect its subsea telecoms cables. The stricter regime comes after a Cameroon-flagged vessel was briefly detained by the CGA earlier this month on suspicion of damaging an international cable northeast of Taiwan. The vessel is owned by a Hong Kong-registered company with a Chinese address given for its only listed director, the CGA said previously. Taiwan fears China could sever its communication links as part of an attempt
RSS