Taiwan's leading shipping tycoon, who endorsed President Chen Shui-bian's (
Yesterday's statement by Evergreen Group Chairman Chang Yung-fa (
PHOTO: LIU LI-JEN, TAIPEI TIMES
Chang stopped short of naming his preferred candidate, but left little room for doubt when he called on voters to support the candidate who promised better ties with arch-foe China.
The main issue dividing the contenders is their policy towards China, with incumbent Chen espousing a policy that sees Taiwan as independent while Nationalist Party leader Lien Chan (
"Which presidential candidate can bring us a life of peace, stability, prosperity, and well-being? The answer should be fairly clear," Chang said in a statement.
"The ideal candidate must ... be able to build a peaceful, stable and harmonious cross-Strait relationship in order to lead us to re-create Taiwan's economic miracle," Chang said.
Chang was a member of an advisory panel to Chen led by Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh (
In an eleventh-hour show of support, Lee, the 1986 Nobel winner in chemistry, backed Chen for the second time in a row but tempered his move with reservations about Chen's first term.
Chang said he had met Wang Yung-ching (
Chang, who has set his sights on the vast China market, turned down an offer to be a senior adviser to Chen in 2002.
Businessmen such as tycoons Chang and Wang have been clamoring for the lifting of a decades-old ban on direct sea and air links with the China to save time and reduce costs.
Despite testy political ties, Taiwan investors have poured more than US$100 billion into China since detente first began in the late 1980s, lured by low land and labor costs as well as a common language and culture.
The Evergreen Group consists of Evergreen Marine, the world's third largest shipping line, EVA Airways and Uniglory Marine. It has set up offices in a dozen Chinese cities and invested heavily in joint ventures in China.
Rain is to increase from Wednesday morning as Severe Tropical Storm Kong-Rey approaches, with sea warnings to be issued as early as tomorrow afternoon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. As of 8am, Kong-Rey was 1,050km east-southeast of the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) heading in a northwesterly direction toward Taiwan, CWA Forecast Center Director Lin Po-tung (林伯東) said. Rainfall is to increase from Wednesday morning, especially in northern Taiwan and Yilan County, he said. A sea warning is possible from tomorrow afternoon, while a land warning may be issued on Wednesday morning, he added. Kong-Rey may intensify into a moderate typhoon as it passes
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A former member of the US Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), formerly known as SEAL Team 6, said in an interview with Business Insider that the elite unit’s role in a Taiwan Strait conflict would be more limited than some might expect. The report follows an earlier one in September by the Financial Times, which said the “clandestine US Navy commando unit” has been training for missions to help Taiwan if it is invaded by China. “You don’t use a scalpel for a job a hammer can do,” the former Navy Seal said to Business Insider on condition of anonymity.
MUCH-NEEDED: After China demonstrated its capabilities to deploy vertical launching systems, Taiwan needs air defense systems such as NASAMS, a defense expert said The US’ approval of exports of three advanced air defense missile systems to Taiwan signified NATO’s goodwill toward the nation, a Taiwanese defense expert said. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency on Friday announced the US$1.16 billion sale of the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) and the US$828 million sale of AN/TPS-77 and AN/TPS-78 radar turnkey systems. The NASAMS is a network that uses ground-launched Air Intercept Missile (AIM)-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) to intercept hostile aircraft, drones and cruise missiles. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), director of defense strategy and resources at the state-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said
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