Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers slammed the KMT at a press conference yesterday as being responsible for insisting that the Republic of China (ROC) withdraw from the UN 34 years ago and for letting Taiwan lapse into international isolation, while today it has become China's number one accomplice in seeking the unification of Taiwan with China.
DPP Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) held a news conference yesterday to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the UN and urged people to learn the truth about how Taiwan got stuck in its present international fix and remember the historical lessons.
"Taiwan is the only nation that could not experience the joy of the UN's 60th anniversary as the rest of the world celebrated the day on Oct. 25," Tien said.
PHOTO: CHU PEI-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Tien pointed out that it was the KMT government that sacrificed Taiwan's interests and rights because of its "one China" illusion. It ignored the US and Japan's efforts to help and its actions eventually led to Taiwan being marooned in international isolation.
"People might think that it doesn't matter if Taiwan joins the UN or not," Tien said.
"But in fact, for any nation, it is increasingly important to be a member," especially in the face of the growing tide of globalization. Many matters concerning people's rights and economic development require statehood in order to enable participation," she said.
In organizations such as the IMF, the WTO and the World Health Organization (WHO), Taiwan has been obstructed from obtaining full member status, Tien said.
DPP caucus whip William Lai (
"However, as soon as it lost executive power, it gave up on this insistence and instead became the Chinese Communist Party's biggest helper in their unification war with Taiwan," Lai said. "The KMT is totally dishonest."
"KMT members line up to pay tribute to the Chinese authorities these days and promote the policies that attempt to sell-out Taiwan to China," Lai said.
"It should be held responsible for this period of history and learn to curb its evil intentions right away," he said.
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