Setting aside partisan differences, lawmakers of all stripes, with the exception of the New Party, rallied behind the government in indignation over Taiwan's treatment over the APEC leaders' summit in Shanghai this weekend.
Major caucuses said that Bei-jing's persistence in strangling Taiwan internationally, as demonstrated by its refusal to receive former vice president Li Yuan-zu (
"By denying Li attendance at the leaders' forum, Beijing has once again sought to humiliate Taiwan on the world stage," DPP legislative leader Tsai Huang-liang (
Earlier in the day, Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂) declared Taiwan would not take part in the summit as China had not sent any formal invitation nor any special envoy to Taipei regarding the meeting as required by well-established APEC protocol.
Tsai said that Taipei has made a series of concessions in the last 17 months in the hope of improving cross-strait ties but Beijing has stubbornly ignored these goodwill gestures.
Suspicious of the political motives behind President Chen Shui-bian's (
Tsai said China has no right to meddle with Taiwan's domestic decision-making.
"We'll not tolerate any Chinese attempt to subjugate the country," Tsai said.
"It is time pro-China politicians woke up to the reality that no matter how hard we try, Beijing will never return our goodwill."
Sharing Tsai's frustration, the majority KMT legislative caucus said it regretted the latest Chinese act of bullying.
"We agree with the government's decision not to participate in the APEC summit and condemn China's rough treatment of Taiwan's delegation that is already in Shanghai," KMT legislator Chao Erh-chung (曹爾忠) said.
On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan (
Chao said that the APEC memorandum of understanding cited by China to deny Li's entry did not obligate Taiwan to obtain China's approval before deciding on its representatives.
"To my knowledge, the country merely promised not to send its foreign minister or vice foreign minister to APEC meetings when signing the memorandum 10 years ago," the KMT legislator said.
He added that the agreement did not extend to representation at the leaders' summit, as it was not until 1993 that the first leaders' summit was held.
However, the KMT legislator expressed concern that the episode may set a precedent for China and its allies to exclude Taiwan from international forums in the future.
People First Party legislative leader Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) agreed in part.
Chou noted that by turning down Li's visit, China has harmed its bid to bring Taiwan into its fold.
"The development will undoubtedly alienate people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait," Chou said.
Chou questioned the wisdom of China's politicizing of the economic forum but said the DPP government was also to blame for the stalemate by failing to name a better delegate.
Going a step further, the pro-unification New Party called the withdrawal an utter defeat on the part of Taiwan.
New Party legislator Levy Ying (
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)
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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,
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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