Warning that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) visit to China might have grave repercussions, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday said that China's invitation was an arrangement aimed at unification but cloaked in the name of peace.
She said people should pay close attention to the development of cross-strait relations, not on the commotion at CKS International Airport.
"Cross-strait relations have changed a lot since Beijing passed the `Anti-Secession' Law. It is confusing and stunning for the KMT to switch its political stance from opposing communism to leaning toward communism," Lu said at the DPP Central Standing Committee's weekly meeting yesterday afternoon.
PHOTO: AFP
"The first part of the Anti-Secession Law is to facilitate unification. Inviting the opposition leaders to visit China is just part of its [Beijing's] ploys in the name of peace," Lu said.
"The second half of the law will be objecting to Taiwan's independence with force. We have to use a lot of caution in dealing with the new cross-strait situation," she said.
"Comparing with the changing cross-strait situation, the conflicts that broke out at the airport this morning were a petty thing," Lu said.
Lu said the KMT's U-turn -- with its leaders rushing to China -- reminded her of the recent train accident in Japan after the train took a sudden turn.
"Although Lien has stressed that his trip is a peace journey, the so-called `peace' in China's eye is to demand that Taiwan accept that it is part of China," Lu said. "I'm worried that Lien's visit might have the same outcome as the Japanese train accident -- major casualties."
Meanwhile, DPP Deputy Secretary-General Yen Wan-ching (
"Lien and Soong's trips have created great contention and controversy in Taiwan," Yen said. "We hope that this will remind them not to violate the voice of the majority in Taiwan."
Taiwan Solidarity Union TSU Secretary-General Chen Chien-ming (
"The police's security was full of loopholes and their blockade strategy was not effective at all," Chen said angrily at a news conference at the TSU's headquarters after its protesters returned from the airport.
"The TSU supporters stayed in the areas set out by the police. However, many pan-blue supporters -- who we suspect are gangsters -- hid in the throng and attacked us," Chen said.
He said about five TSU supporters had suffered bloody head injuries and were believed to have been assaulted by gangsters wearing rings with a tiger-head design.
Chen also pointed a finger at DPP Legislator Wang Shih-chien (王世堅), accusing him of inciting his supporters to clash with the pan-blue crowds. Chen said TSU's supporters were being scapegoated.
In response, Yen said that this was not the time for the pan-green camp to start blaming one another.
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