In response to Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan's (唐家璇) scolding of a reporter for using the term "Communist China," Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Wu Tzu-dan (吳子丹) said yesterday that Tang has always suffered from a "serious problem" with language.
"I feel so sorry for this," said Wu, while explaining to lawmakers the government's decision not to attend the APEC leader's summit. "However, it is ridiculous for a Foreign Minister to act like this at an international event."
"`Communist China' has been a term we've used to refer to the Beijing government for decades. It is a term that most people use. We won't say that it is synonymous for the Chinese Communists or China because the Beijing government never made any formal announcement to confirm it. But, it is obvious that Mr. Tang didn't realize the actual definition of the phrase before he so rudely scolded the lady reporter at the press conference," added Wu.
Tang corrected a PowerTV reporter for using the term "Communist China" -- which he labeled a throwback to the Cold War -- in her question at a press conference during the APEC leader's summit last week. He said that "Communist China" is now "a phrase relegated to history. Everybody knows that there is only one China in the world which is the People's Republic of China."
Wu also said that Tang's statement is untrue and inaccurate because the Chinese Communists still exist.
"If they don't like it, maybe the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should consider calling them the PRC directly" said DPP Legislator Parris Chang (
"The Chinese Government did not follow the rules and send out an official invitation to us," said Wu. "In fact, they just xeroxed an invitation from another country and sent it to us without an addressee. This is extremely rude."
New Party Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (
"If they don't send us an official invitation, then we won't have to assign anyone to the summit or let them know who our official representative is," said Lai. "I think this is what we should do when they fail to show us the proper amount of respect."
Lin Chong-pin (林中斌), vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, who also presented a report to the committee, indicated that the Chinese Government is hoping to improve its poor relationship with the US.
"China always tries to ally with the US against Taiwan," said Lin. "For instance, the Chinese Government officially showed its supports toward the US on Sept. 12, the day after the terrorist attack on New York, while many of the Chinese people were `celebrating' the attack because they hate Americans."
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
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China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
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