DPP presidential candidate Chen Shui-bian (
Chen also said he would ask Lee Yuan-tseh (
Koo Chen-fu (
Chen announced the latest names on his advisors' list during a campaign rally in Taoyuan yesterday morning. Figures from cultural circles included Lin Hwai-min (
University presidents who promised to join the committee were National Chiao-tung University's Chang Chun-yen (
Support from business circles included Kao Chih-ming (
Political observers said Chen's move to announce his list of advisors, most of whom are household names and highly respected figures, would help sway the large number of voters who remain undecided on their preference of candidate.
Wang Yeh-lih (
He said Chen's choice of advisors would assuage concerns some voters still have about Chen's position on certain issues, such as cross-strait affairs where he is often seen as a firebrand.
Lin Hwai-min confirmed yesterday that he would work as Chen's advisor.
"Cultural development in Taiwan is an issue that I have been concerned about for years. I am willing to offer my advice on cultural affairs to whoever wins the presidential election and considers my advice valuable," Lin said.
Chen's move yesterday was a follow-up to his announcement last week on who would join his advisory committee.
Along with Lee, the Nobel Prize-winning chemist, other heavyweights that had promised to be Chen's advisors included Taiwan High-Speed Railway Corp chairperson Nita Ing (
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
COORDINATION, ASSURANCE: Separately, representatives reintroduced a bill that asks the state department to review guidelines on how the US engages with Taiwan US senators on Tuesday introduced the Taiwan travel and tourism coordination act, which they said would bolster bilateral travel and cooperation. The bill, proposed by US senators Marsha Blackburn and Brian Schatz, seeks to establish “robust security screenings for those traveling to the US from Asia, open new markets for American industry, and strengthen the economic partnership between the US and Taiwan,” they said in a statement. “Travel and tourism play a crucial role in a nation’s economic security,” but Taiwan faces “pressure and coercion from the Chinese Communist Party [CCP]” in this sector, the statement said. As Taiwan is a “vital trading
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