The Executive Yuan yesterday dismissed China's claim that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was a threat to Asian stability, saying that China is the biggest threat in the region and that there is no chance the government will adhere to a "one country, two systems" model.
"China has been ambitious in expanding its military might in the region and that has been the cause of much concern from [its] neighbors," Cabinet Spokesman Chen Chi-mai (
He said that China has raked up a double-digit increase to its military spending every year since 1995 and has deployed over 500 ballistic missiles targeting Taiwan, which seriously threatens security across the Taiwan Strait.
To prove his point, Chen Chi-mai said that China's military expenses were estimated to be between US$50 billion and US$70 billion annually, ranking it third-highest in defense spending after the US and Russia.
Chen Chi-mai made the remarks in response to the statement by Li Weiyi (
The Chinese government also yesterday made its first official response to last Saturday's legislative elections. At a TAO press conference, Li denounced Chen Shui-bian's moves toward Taiwan's independence as exacerbating tensions with China. Li also said the president was a dangerous politician who considers China an enemy and puts the safety and livelihood of Taiwan's people at risk.
"The independence activities by the Chen administration are the main source of chaos in the Asia-Pacific and have worsened cross-strait tensions," he said.
Li also claimed that Saturday's election results proved that most Taiwanese favored peace with China and that they were disillusioned with the separatist activities of Chen Shui-bian.
Dismissing Li's criticism, Chen Chi-mai yesterday called on Bei-jing to not misinterpret the result of Saturday's polls because it was not conducive to cross-strait relations.
"There are always winners and losers in an election, but no matter what the result is, it's how democracy operates," he said.
"The election not only re-affirms the nation's sovereignty but also proves once again that there is no market for the `one country, two systems' model," he said.
Chen Chi-mai also said that the pledges made by President Chen during his inauguration speech and National Day address remained unchanged.
They include the "four noes" and plans for reforming the Constitution.
He also urged the Chinese leadership to resume negotiations on the opening of direct transportation links and charter flights for the Lunar New Year, as they are purely economic issues and not political.
Responding to Li's invitation to Taiwanese individuals and politicians to visit China, Chen Chi-mai called on Beijing to stop instituting political barriers to hamper cross-strait negotiations. He said the 1992 meeting in Hong Kong could be the basis to return to the negotiating table for a new round of cross-strait talks.
Li said the Chinese government welcomes any Taiwanese individual or group, including the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party (PFP), to visit China and exchange views on such issues as how to better develop cross-strait relations and facilitate peaceful unification.
Quoting remarks made by KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) at the KMT's Central Standing Committee meeting yesterday, KMT spokesman Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭) said Lien presently has no plans to visit China.
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
The 2025 Kaohsiung Wonderland–Winter Amusement Park event has teamed up with the Japanese manga series Chiikawa this year for its opening at Love River Bay yesterday, attracting more than 10,000 visitors, the city government said. Following the success of the “2024 Kaohsiung Wonderland” collaboration with a giant inflatable yellow duck installation designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, this year the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau collaborated with Chiikawa by Japanese illustrator Nagano to present two giant inflatable characters. Two inflatable floats — the main character, Chiikwa, a white bear-like creature with round ears, and Hachiware, a white cat with a blue-tipped tail
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