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.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official