President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday downplayed the potential impact of alleged information leaks to China by former Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) deputy minister Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀), calling it a “ripple in the strong wave of cross-strait developments.”
The remark follows his comment the day before comparing Chang to a “pest” in cross-strait ties that has to be eliminated — the first time Ma responded to the weeks-long scandal.
The president said the suspected leak was just a “ripple” that would not affect cross-strait developments, adding that Taipei and Beijing currently enjoy the “most stable period in cross-strait relations over the past 65 years.”
Photo: CNA
Speaking at a ceremony to mark Armed Forces Day, the president said the government would continue its efforts to promote cross-strait relations, but it has to be predicated on mutual respect and legitimacy for it to be in the interests of Taiwan and its people.
Separately yesterday, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) caucus called on Ma to report to the Legislative Yuan on the state of the nation after the legislature’s plenary session commences on Sept. 12, saying that since the president had likened Chang to a “pest,” he should explain who had nurtured the “pest” and allowed it to grow.
TSU caucus whip Lai Chen-chang (賴振昌) said that since Ma is the head of the state and, according to the Constitution, the highest person in charge of the national security system, and Chang was officially appointed by the president to take charge of cross-strait negotiations, Ma has to report to the nation since he was the decisionmaker and an interested party in the case involving national security.
TSU Legislator Chou Ni-an (周倪安) said that Chang, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) and the Presidential Office have changed their stories several times since the dispute broke out, and the whole brouhaha has already caused damage to national security, cross-strait developments and diplomatic affairs.
Chou said Ma has been unapologetic and has acted as if nothing has happened, when he should be held accountable.
The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday also ran a headline story claiming that Chang’s trusted assistants might have released at least 30 confidential documents to a Taiwanese businessman, who handed them over to officials at China’s Taiwan Affairs Office.
The report said the Investigation Bureau found Chang’s secretary faxing from the Mainland Affairs Council office classified documents to a Taiwanese businessman who acted as the middleman between Chang and Chinese officials.
Another assistant of Chang might have also verbally disclosed classified information to Chinese officials, the report quoted the bureau as saying.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office rebutted the report and denied earlier reports saying that Chang had been wiretapped.
Chang was released earlier yesterday at about 2am after being questioned for 12 hours.
Chang’s aide, Chen Hung-yi (陳宏義), and two others who were called in for questioning have also been released.
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
‘DANGEROUS GAME’: Legislative Yuan budget cuts have already become a point of discussion for Democrats and Republicans in Washington, Elbridge Colby said Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests” and Taipei must raise defense spending to deter Beijing, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, said on Tuesday during his US Senate confirmation hearing. The nominee for US undersecretary of defense for policy told the Armed Services Committee that Washington needs to motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and that he is “profoundly disturbed” about its perceived reluctance to raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP. Colby, a China hawk who also served in the Pentagon in Trump’s first team,
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
RSS