The Chinese Embassy in Wash-ington has complained to the National Press Club about the club's decision to invite former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) to speak there next week, but its bid to get the club to drop the invitation was unsuccessful.
The deputy chief of mission, Zheng Zeguang (鄭澤光), telephoned the head of the club's speakers committee, Peter Hickman, earlier this week, urging him to drop the invitation, but Hickman said that he refused to do so.
Lee is scheduled to speak at the club next Thursday morning at the end of a four-day visit to Washington, one of four cities he will visit during his two-week trip to the US.
PHOTO: CNA
He will address a so-called Morning Newsmaker program and answer questions from the media.
Lee will be the guest of the press club, although the lobbying organization, Formosan Association for Public Affairs, has been handling the arrangements.
The topic of Lee's speech will be, "From Taiwan to Washington: A Journey for Democracy and Mutual Understanding."
Hickman described Zheng as "nice and polite" during the phone conversation, in which he said the diplomat "bent my ear" against Lee's club appearance.
"He said the press club `should not be involved in this and neither should you. I hope it's not and you're not.' I said, `well it is and I am,'" Hickman said.
Zheng did not respond when Hickman told him the club believes in "freedom of the press, freedom of expression and freedom of information," Hickman said.
The envoy also remained silent when Hickman told him the club would welcome somebody from the embassy or Beijing to address a later newsmaker breakfast.
The embassy has regularly protested when the club has invited officials from Taiwan to speak, and has regularly objected to the presence of Taiwan's national flag in the main lobby of the National Press Club building when Chinese officials are scheduled to appear at the club.
Hickman has regularly rejected those demands.
During his stay in Washington, Lee will also be the guest of members of Congress at a special reception on Capitol Hill. He will also speak to a number of think tanks and will attend a dinner hosted by the Taiwanese-American community in the Washington area.
It is not known whether he will meet with Bush administration officials, although administration spokesmen have said only that there will be "no meetings."
Whether that phrase would include casual or unofficial sessions with senior officials is not clear.
The US State Department has said that the administration considers the former Taiwanese leader a "private person" on a private trip, and has kept its hands largely off the trip.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS