Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday criticized the Government Information Office's advertisement to campaign for the UN bid, saying the advertisement's title "Unfair," which is intended to highlight the UN's unfairness in excluding Taiwan from the UN, is likely to create the impression that the UN is treating Taiwan fairly.
Speaking at the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) weekly Central Standing Committee, Lu said the ad, which is being circulated in New York City, might not necessarily deliver the expected message; rather, it might be interpreted as meaning that the UN is treating Taiwan fairly.
PHOTO: WANG PEI-LIN, TAIPEI TIMES
DPP Deputy Secretary-General Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) yesterday quoted Lu as saying that "None of us is in New York to see the effect of this ad or to know whether it has delivered the expected message. The design of the ad, including the words and color arrangements, might not give the target audience a clear enough idea about what the ad is trying to say; rather it could cause a misunderstanding."
Lu urged the GIO to modify the design of the advertisement to allow the target audience to get a better idea about what it means.
Lu was speaking in response to a report made by Executive Yuan Secretary-General Authur Iap (
The vice president yesterday opposed Yu's reference to the country as "Taiwan, ROC," saying the comma separating Taiwan and ROC reduces Taiwan into a part of the Republic of China. She insisted that Taiwan is the ROC and there shouldn't be any attempts to reduce Taiwan's status.
Lu said the discussion surrounding Yu's description of the country as "Taiwan, ROC" should come to an end.
In response to the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) recent discussion that that Taiwan equals the ROC, the Tainan County Commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智), also a member of the Central Standing Committee, yesterday proposed that the DPP should initiate a national identity campaign in the run up to the legislative elections.
Su said that while the KMT is proposing changing its central rationale on Taiwan's status in a bid to recognize the growing "localization" force, and the DPP is in the process of encapsulating ideas of ethnic diversity and national unity in the party charter, the timing is ripe for the country to initiate a nationwide campaign to further bolster the public conciousness of Taiwan's independence.
Su's proposal met with a positive response, and the party headquarters have decided to study the possibility of including the proposal in the agenda for the year-end legislative election campaign.
In response to the party's campaign, Nantou County Commissioner Lin Tsung-nan (林宗男) yesterday expressed concerns about the Taiwan Solidarity Union's emerging power, which he said could overtake the DPP's traditional line in supporting Taiwan independence.
DPP Legislator Trong Chai (
Reacting to Chai's suggestion, Lu, who presided over yesterday's CSC meeting on behalf of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said the issue is a huge matter and should be further discussed after the president returns to the country.
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
FATALITIES: The storm claimed at least two lives — a female passenger in a truck that was struck by a falling tree and a man who was hit by a utility pole Workers cleared fallen trees and shop owners swept up debris yesterday after one of the biggest typhoons to hit the nation in decades claimed at least two lives. Typhoon Kong-rey was packing winds of 184kph when it slammed into eastern Taiwan on Thursday, uprooting trees, triggering floods and landslides, and knocking out power as it swept across the nation. A 56-year-old female foreign national died from her injuries after the small truck she was in was struck by a falling tree on Provincial Highway 14A early on Thursday. The second death was reported at 8pm in Taipei on Thursday after a 48-year-old man
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