World Uyghur Congress president Rebiya Kadeer said on Thursday in Washington that Taiwan and Turkey were the only countries in the world denying her a visitor’s visa, but added that she still hoped to visit Taiwan in the future.
The Uighur rights activist made the comments in her meeting with visiting Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝), who promised to demand that the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) grant her a visa.
“Taiwan should try to change China, not the other way around,” Kadeer was quoted as saying in a press release issued by the TSU yesterday as she noted that Taiwanese democracy serves as a good model for China.
However, Kadeer said she was concerned about Ma’s “keeping China happy” mentality and his unwillingness to promote democratic values in China.
Three countries had denied her a visa — Turkey, Taiwan and Saudi Arabia — under pressure from Beijing, the 63-year-old activist said, adding that Saudi Arabia recently agreed to let her visit.
Kadeer said she would visit the Middle Eastern country, where more than 20,000 Uighurs reside, shortly and encourage them to preserve Uighur culture and identity.
“I do not see any reason for Taiwan to deny Kadeer’s entry,” Huang said, adding that the TSU caucus supported her being granted a visas as soon as possible.
Speaking at the Taiwanese American Conference East Coast on Saturday in Danbury, Connecticut, Huang said that theories about “China rising” had been blown out of proportion, particularly in Taiwan.
There is a rising China, he said, but the dynamics of its rise are in constant flux as Beijing now faces a rapid changing global economic situation externally and social disorder internally.
“However, the pervasive perception in Taiwan is that if you don’t go west [to the Chinese market] then you’re doomed to fail,” Huang said.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost the presidential election because it failed to challenge Ma’s China policy head on and falsely concluded that China policy was Ma’s strength.
More than 90 percent of Taiwanese oppose unification and that fact is significant. The DPP should have the courage to map out its own position, he said.
On bilateral engagement with China, Huang said his party was not opposed to all channels of exchange, but believed that Taiwan should not engage with Beijing under China’s “united-front framework.”
Huang was scheduled to speak at the Midwest Taiwanese Summer Conference in Elgin, Illinois, on Sunday before concluding his two-week US visit.
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS