Former president Lee Teng-hui (
Lee made the remarks at a forum discussing "the imminent crisis that Taiwan is facing" held by the Taiwan Advocates (
In his opening speech, Lee, who is the president of Taiwan Advocates, said that Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) is employing Lien to make mischief in Taiwanese society, adding that Hu's tactic shows that China has launched its offensive to divide Taiwan from every angle.
"The serious crisis that Taiwan faces is not China's military threat, but its new strategy of fomenting dissent in Taiwanese society," Lee said. "In the wake of the passage of the `Anti-Secession' Law, it is obvious that China is assuming a strategy of allying with the pan-blue camp to attack the pan-green camp, and utilizing Taiwanese to subdue Taiwanese."
Lee said that Lien and Hu's cooperation aims to push Taiwanese to identify with China -- and was the reason Hu had praised Lien as "having a Chinese heart."
Noting the first crisis caused by Lien's trip is that Taiwan's sovereignty might be eliminated, Lee questioned why Lien did not dare to bring the national flags of the Republic of China (ROC) with him and almost never dared to utter the word "ROC" in China.
"It proves that the `defending the ROC' that they talked about all the time is a lie," Lee said. "In fact, they are just echoing the Beijing authorities' policy of `anti-Taiwanese independence and facilitating unification,'" he said.
Lee said that Lien and Soong, after establishing a partnership with Beijing, might launch a "political blitz" in Taiwan to destabilize the country. This could include measures such as working with pan-blue lawmakers to propose to recall the president.
"Lien and Soong are taking advantage of Taiwan's freedom and democracy as a protective umbrella and colluding with China to launch a civil war against democracy" in Taiwan, which aims to facilitate their great undertaking -- the unification of China," Lee said, adding that this was the second crisis facing the nation -- having its democracy undermined.
The third crisis the people of Taiwan face is losing their hard-won freedom and democracy, he said.
"Everyone in Taiwan has already long enjoyed democracy and freedom. As a result, some people think freedom and democracy are dispensable," Lee said. "If we don't cherish the accomplishments of our successful democratic reforms, our descendants will unavoidably pay for it by losing their freedom."
Political commentator Yang Hsien-hung (楊憲宏) said that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) should declare that his "four noes and one not" pledge is no longer in effect given that China's "Anti-Secession" Law has destroyed the premise of the promises -- that China does not use force against Taiwan.
"I think President Chen's pledge was the wedge of today's situation that has lead to the political tsunami that has almost engulfed Taiwan," Yang said.
Ruan Ming (
National Chungshan University professor Chang Hsi-mo (
Chinese dissident writer Cao Ching-qing (
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS