Both Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers expressed goodwill toward President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who left on a trip to the Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Tuvalu early yesterday morning.
In response to critics who say that Chen has spent too much money visiting foreign countries since he took office in 2000, DPP Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (
"Think about it, how many countries in the world would welcome our president as a president? It is extremely difficult for Taiwan to survive in the world today and that means we should work harder to step out," Hsiao said.
"I think we should salute and send our best regards to the president for what he is doing," she said.
Given that China is continuously working to lure away Taiwan's allies to establish relations with Beijing, Hsiao said that it takes work and effort to maintain diplomatic relations with foreign countries.
In addition, while some have said Chen is traveling to foreign countries now to divert media attention from KMT Chairman Lien Chan's (
"It is the president's job to maintain friendly ties with foreign countries. He definitely needs to find some time to do this [take trips]," she said.
Hsiao encouraged the public to support the president since the trip would not be easy.
"There are no five-star hotels in those places. They do not even have running water. But the president insists on going to do something for the country. We should wish him good luck instead of cursing him," Hsiao said.
In addition to Hsiao's comments, KMT Lawmaker Su Chi (
Su is currently accompanying Lien in Xian.
Commenting on speculation that Chen's trip is aimed at countering Lien's and Soong's China visits, he said the trips to China have nothing to do with the president's trip to solidify Taiwan's foreign ties.
"Visiting our friends regularly is a must-do," he said when approached by the Taipei Times on Saturday night.
Su said that he had no idea when the Presidential Office had begun planning the trip to the Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Tuvalu, but he believed that the president was not using the trip to get himself on the front page of newspapers for political purposes.
According to Su, Lien's trip was scheduled and confirmed when KMT Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kun (
Former president Lee Teng-hui (
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
RSS