A group of about 1,000 people yesterday protested in Kaohsiung’s Labor Park against China’s proposal to implement a “one country, two systems” framework in Taiwan.
The march, organized by Citizen Front Taiwan, also protested Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) visits last month to China’s liaison offices in Hong Kong and Macau.
Critics said the visits were inappropriate and suggested that Han accepts China’s “one country, two systems” model.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
The protesters shouted “Today Hong Kong, tomorrow Taiwan” and “Reject ‘one country, two systems,’ resist Chinese annexation” and other slogans.
By visiting the offices and signing a memorandum of understanding on fruit exports with Chinese officials, Han is “returning to the old ways of [former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九)] administration,” Sunflower movement leader Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) told the crowd, accusing Han of “locking Taiwan into a ‘one China’ framework” in the name of boosting the economy.
Ma “placed all of Taiwan’s resources into China” during his presidency, like putting all of one’s eggs in one basket, Lin said.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
As a result, Taiwan’s economy became reliant on China, he said.
“Are we going to go back to the old ways?” he asked.
Han did not give prior notice of his visits to the offices, said Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan chairman Lee Ken-cheng (李根政), who also serves as an organizer of Citizen Front Taiwan.
Photo: Ko Yu-hao, Taipei Times
By entering the offices, Han “cooperated with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) ‘united front’ strategy,” Lee said.
Biased information from China makes it impossible for people to access correct information, Citizen Front Taiwan organizer Shen Pai-yang (沈柏洋) said.
National security officials need to act on the “information war” the nation is facing. Many countries are slowly being infiltrated by China, but the most serious case is Taiwan, which is the least able to resist infiltration, he added.
Edith Cheung (鍾慧沁), who in September last year immigrated from Hong Kong, said Hong Kongers only became poorer after the “one country, two systems” model was implemented there.
Real-estate prices went up due to Chinese buyers, and young Hong Kongers, faced with competition from China, could not find jobs, she said.
Charng Mei (常美冰店), an ice cream store in Cishan District (旗山), showed its support by sending 300 popsicles to the protesters.
The Kaohsiung City Police Department dispatched 100 police officers to the park to prevent any clashes between the protesters and members of the public.
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
COOPERATION: Taiwan is aligning closely with US strategic objectives on various matters, including China’s rare earths restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan could deal with China’s tightened export controls on rare earth metals by turning to “urban mining,” a researcher said yesterday. Rare earth metals, which are used in semiconductors and other electronic components, could be recovered from industrial or electronic waste to reduce reliance on imports, National Cheng Kung University Department of Resources Engineering professor Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare — their abundance in the Earth’s crust is relatively high, but they are dispersed, making extraction and refining energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, he said, adding that many countries have opted to
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
RSS