While leaders of China and the US were scheduled to conduct bilateral talks yesterday on the first day of the leaders' summit, President Chen Shui-bian's (
"I don't know anything about a meeting between President Hu Jintao (
Quan made the remark Friday afternoon during a press conference held at the Mario Hotel, where Hu and the Chinese delegation are staying during the event.
Kong sang a hackneyed tune while commenting on China-US relations.
"The Taiwan problem is the primary interest of the Chinese people and the core element of Sino-American relations," he said. "Only if the Taiwan issue is properly handled can Sino-American relations be developed in a healthy manner."
As evidence of healthy China-US relations, Kong said that President Bush had telephoned Hu before leaving for Chile.
"President Bush thanked President Hu for sending telegrams to congratulate him on winning his second term," he said. "He also pledged to continue the development of Sino-American relations for the next four years. In addition, he reiterated the `one China' policy, honored the three Sino-American communiques and opposed Taiwan independence."
He also criticized Taiwan's "independence separatists" for causing instability across the Taiwan Strait, Kong said.
Commenting on the possibility of resuming talks on cross-strait direct transportation links, Kong rudely responded to a Hong Kong reporter who asked the question by suggesting the reporter "buy a plane ticket to Beijing to ask the spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office (
"Or better yet, you might want to make a phone call now and find out," he said.
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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