President Chen Shui-bian (
Ma made the comments while answering questions from reporters during a visit to eastern Ilan County regarding Chen's remarks a day earlier that "Lien's China visit will enable the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] to bring Taiwan into its fold."
Saying that an "opposition party has no power to sell Taiwan out," Ma said that Chen should wish Lien success during his China visit and help him complete the task that could bring peace to Taiwan.
Ma added that he will also consider visiting China, if such a visit is determined to be beneficial to Taiwan, should he win the election for the KMT chairmanship in July.
Meanwhile, a KMT lawmaker said that Lien's upcoming visit to China has gained strong support among the public.
Legislator Chen Chieh (
Stressing that Lien's China visit is aimed at seeking the maximum benefits for the people of Taiwan, Chen Chieh claimed that he has strong confidence that the popular backing for Lien's visit will be reflected in the National Assembly election set for May 14.
He called on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its political ally, the Taiwan Solidarity Union, to be cognizant of the KMT's efforts to build peace for Taiwan and urged the DPP to bravely face up to the development for the sake of Taiwan's stability and prosperity.
The government should give its blessing to the KMT for its peace-forging efforts because the Taiwan people hope that the opposition camp can help the government achieve something that is beyond its own reach, Chen said.
Lien is scheduled to visit China in late April or early May, during which he will make stops in Xian, Shanghai, Nanjing and Beijing.
The KMT chairman is slated to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao (
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,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
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
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
RSS