Taiwan could learn a great deal about unity from the US and its response to last week's terrorist attacks, former president Lee Teng-hui (
"Look at the US. At its most difficult moment, members of the Congress, regardless of party affiliation, have all joined together. ... That is what a democratic country should be like," Lee told members of the Board of Industrial Park Manufacturers Federation at a luncheon yesterday.
PHOTO: HU WEI-MIN, TAIPEI TIMES
"Taiwan, on the other hand, is nothing like that," Lee said. "The lawmakers just act out skits like they are a part of some big drama and I have no idea what drama they think they are acting in. This type of behavior will only create fear and cause people to worry about our future.
"If you ask me, I am afraid for Taiwan's future," Lee said.
While President Chen Shui-bian (
"Some parties and some people are purposely pulling President Chen down to see whether he will collapse. What kind of attitude is that?" Lee asked.
"The only thing that these politicians dream about is getting back their power and becoming the next president. While Taiwan is in economic recession we cannot allow this chaos to continue."
Yesterday's luncheon was arranged by Huang Tzung-yuan (黃宗源), president of the manufacturers' association, and the Taiwan Solidarity Union.
DPP candidate for Taichung City Mayor Tsai Ming-hsien (蔡明憲) was also in attendance.
Lee also defended his "no haste, be patient" policy yesterday, responding to recent comments made by Formosa Plastics tycoon Wang Yung-ching (
Lee said the policy had its time and purpose, but it wasn't responsible for driving Taiwan's economy into its current quagmire as Wang had claimed.
"The policy was made to help protect Taiwan's high-tech and infrastructure industries. Under the `no haste, be patient' policy, Taiwan's economic growth was stable and people were still making money," Lee said.
Lee also said he wasn't opposed to investment in China.
"I am not opposed to people making money in China. I encourage businessmen to make money everywhere in the world, but to be careful," Lee said.
He did, however, take issue with the government's timing of relaxing restrictions imposed by the policy, which limits investments to US$50 million and bans certain types of investments in China.
"The problem is that now -- at a time when you need blood -- you are still drawing blood and giving it to someone else," Lee said.
"The only thing that we can count on is China's cheaper labor. However, labor salaries will rise in China in the near future and they will experience the same problems Taiwan is experiencing right now.
"Taiwan should focus on improving our infrastructure industries and improving our investment environment rather than just moving our roots to China," he said.
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
A registered sex offender from the US who went missing after entering Taiwan has been found and would be deported in light of the risk he poses to the public, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday. The agency launched a search for Levi Forrest Wallace, 43, after it was informed by the American Institute of Taiwan (AIT) that he had entered Taiwan on Oct. 2 on a tourist visa. He was not on the US government’s wanted list. Wallace was sentenced to 90 days in jail with a two-year probation in 2001 after he was convicted of sexual delinquency of
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