Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan’s (連戰) recent comment to outgoing Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) that “Taiwan is a troublemaker” drew criticism from opposition legislators yesterday.
In a meeting with Hu on Tuesday, Lien said that “for a long time internationally Taiwan has been [seen as] in truth a troublemaker.”
Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信) yesterday said that Lien, having been minister of foreign affairs, premier and vice president, should know full well that Taiwan is suffering from China’s oppression on issues of sovereignty, international participation and diplomacy.
For him to accept Beijing’s so-called “one China” policy and cause the nation to be oppressed, Lien is “Taiwan’s troublemaker,” Hsu said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Pan Men-an (潘孟安) said that Lien’s comments contrasted with his stance in 2000 when he criticized China for being the troublemaker.
Lien’s remarks now are an effort to win the affection of Xi, Pan said.
“Lien had been nurtured by the nation, has served in high-ranking positions and is even now earning a large pension. His words contradict what the nation has done for him,” Pan said.
While Lien was the first to make the remark to Chinese leaders, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in March 2009 at a press conference in Belize: “We should turn Taiwan from a troublemaker into a peacemaker through reconciliation across the Taiwan Strait.”
Another comment made by Lien also drew criticism from the opposition, who said it belittled Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Lien, in a meeting with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing on Monday, said that cross-strait relations should be based on the principles of “the one China framework, cross-strait peace, mutual interest and integration, and revitalization of the Zhonghua minzu (中華民族) [Chinese ethnic group].”
The Presidential Office dismissed allegations that Lien was serving as a messenger for Ma.
Presidential Office spokesperson Lee Chia-fei (李佳霏) said that the delegation of Taiwanese businesspeople and politicians visiting China was not an official trip.
Former KMT legislator Kuo Su-chun (郭素春), spokesperson for the delegation, yesterday said Lien made the comments on the basis of the so-called “1992 consensus.”
“Mr Lien’s remarks are no different from the ‘1992 consensus.’ He works very hard for peaceful development across the Taiwan Strait and his words should not be distorted,” Kuo said.
Kuo accused the Presidential Office of trying to distance itself from Lien and the delegation, adding that the office should show more respect to Lien.
In response, Lee said the Presidential Office made the comments in response to reporters’ inquiries, adding that the public should not overinterpret relations between Ma and Lien.
Separately yesterday, DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) reiterated the party’s insistence on transparency in all cross-strait engagements and said that Lien’s comments during his visit to Beijing had violated that principle.
“No individual or political party should advance initiatives and political negotiations that have not been authorized by the people without regard to the huge differences across the Taiwan Strait,” Lin said.
Additional reporting by Chris Wang and Jake Chung
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
RSS