President Chen Shui-bian (
The paper published excerpts of Chen's hour-long interview on its front page Saturday under the title "Taiwan Leader Defends Vote."
According to the paper, Chen rejected international concerns that the proposed referendum is a provocation that endangers the uneasy peace in the Taiwan Strait. He also characterized Beijing's denunciation of the referendum as part of a broader attempt during the last 17 years to intimidate Taiwan's 23 million people as they move along the path of democracy.
Chen is putting two questions to a vote in a referendum on March 20 -- which is also the date of a presidential election. The questions are as follows:
"The people of Taiwan demand that the Taiwan Strait issue be resolved through peaceful means. Should mainland China refuse to withdraw the missiles it has targeted at Taiwan and openly renounce the use of force against us, would you agree that the government should acquire more advanced anti-missile weapons to strengthen Taiwan's self-defense capabilities?"
"Would you agree that our government should engage in negotiation with mainland China on the establishment of a peace and stability framework for cross-strait interaction in order to build consensus and for the welfare of the peoples of both sides?"
Chen said that he appreciates the concerns from the international community, particularly the US government and US President George W. Bush, and he gave assurances that the Taiwan issue would not be a liability or a burden to the US.
If re-elected March 20, Chen pledged to maintain the status quo and a permanent peace across the Taiwan Strait.
Referring to his plan to draft a new constitution by 2006, Chen said that the drafting process will be conducted on the basis of the status quo and will focus on internal issues aimed mainly at improving government efficiency.
The paper also published an interview with opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Lien said that if he is elected, he will begin a dialogue with Beijing "as soon as the atmosphere is right."
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
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