The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) objected yesterday to President Chen Shui-bian's (
The TSU urged Chen not to endorse the planned trips by Lien and People First Party Chairman James Soong (
Lien is expected to telephone Chen on Monday to report on the purpose and details of his China trip, set for Tuesday to May 3.
Soong will visit China next month.
According to Lai Hsin-yuan (
Lai accused Chen and Lien of not taking the matter seriously by allowing such discussion to take place over the phone.
Lai also asked the president to clarify if his discussion with Lien mean that he supports the so-called "1992 consensus" on the "one China" issue that Lien is planning to discuss in Beijing.
Chen had previously insisted that there was never any consensus between Taipei and Beijing on the issue during talks held in Hong Kong in 1992 during the rule of the former KMT government.
The TSU lawmaker also accused Chen of being inconsistent in terms of his cross-strait policy, claiming that Chen has been swaying over the past five years between his "five noes" commitment and the "one country on each side" concept and between endorsing the campaign to change the official name of the country and denying it.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
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