Acknowledging concerns felt by some about cross-strait relations, President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen made the remarks while meeting with representatives of World Taiwanese, a businessmen's group, at the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon.
Noting the recent series of events including China's enactment of its "Anti-Secession" Law, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kun's (江丙坤) trip to China and KMT Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) departure for Nanjing, Chen said that "some [people] have expressed concern to me in private that they are worried that there are some people within the opposition parties who are using cross-strait exchanges as chips in their political rivalry and who want to isolate and attack the government and allow the other side of the Strait to divide us."
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-TEH, TAIPEI TIMES
"Such anxiety is understandable," he said.
"In view of the incessant threats and challenges from the other side of the Strait, Taiwan must unite domestically. Taiwan would be put in a very disadvantageous position if we disperse our strength," Chen said. "All 23 million people in Taiwan should understand this concept, regardless of ethnicity or political stance."
"Compatriots must have confidence in the government and in Taiwan ... the government has a comprehensive plan to promote its cross-strait policy as well as control the situation across the Strait," he said.
Chen reiterated his sincerity in offering to work with opposition leaders toward political reconciliation and cooperation between the governing and opposition parties.
"Since both Chairmen Lien and [People First Party Chairman James] Soong (
Meanwhile, in reaction to the clashes at CKS International Airport yesterday between pan-green supporters and pro-China forces, Premier Frank Hsieh (
"What those people did was against the idea of democracy and definitely illegal," Hsieh said. "All illegal behavior will be investigated and people could face indictments because law enforcement officials collected evidence at the scene."
The premier also reminded politicians to be aware of potential violence among their supporters.
He commented on the airport clashes while he was being questioned by lawmakers during yesterday morning's legislative meeting.
The premier said that the democratic ideal is that differing voices have the right to be heard and that right should be protected under all circumstances.
"It is absolutely wrong to force anyone to accept your opinion by violence in any form," he said.
"I am sorry for what happened at the airport but I assure everybody that all those who violated the law will be properly punished, no matter what political parties they belong to," he said.
Hsieh urged the people to unite to fight against a minority who resort to violence to voice their views.
The biggest problem is not cross-strait relations, he said, "It is the hatred between supporters of different parties."
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS