Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday said that the possibility of him making a trip to the US in KMT presidential nominee Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) stead would need to be further discussed by the party’s campaign headquarters.
Chu had said Hung might visit the US in August or September, but Hung said it is up to her to decide whether she would make any visit, which local media reports have called “a slap in the face” for Chu.
“[Whether I will be going to the US in Hung’s stead] would have to be first fully discussed within the election campaign headquarters,” Chu said.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
When asked whether that means there is a possibility that he could make the trip, he stressed that the discussion has not yet taken place.
Separately yesterday, the authenticity of Hung’s master’s degree was questioned by radio host Clara Chou (周玉蔻), who said a program Hung attended at what was then called Northeast Missouri State University was merely a summer credit program.
Hung said that the program was indeed a “summer or winter credit program,” but added: “The diploma is real.”
“Although it was not recognized by the Ministry of Education, the study and the diploma are both real,” Hung said.
“It signifies the spirit of life-long learning, which is not done to gain promotion, but to extend my own learning,” she said, adding that a person’s academic qualifications do not indicate their capabilities, while political candidates should emphasize their policy platforms.
The ministry said later yesterday that the university, which is now called Truman State University, is on its listing of US colleges.
Department of Higher Education Director-General Huang Wen-ling (黃雯玲) said only those who plan to apply for higher degree programs or for public office and teaching positions would need the ministry to have their foreign degrees certified, which is a rigorous process.
A master’s degree, for example, would entail a minimum of eight months of full-time study to complete, Huang said.
However, if the degree was conferred by the university, it would be authentic even if it was ineligible for recognition in Taiwan because of the eight-month criterion, Huang added.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS