Vice President Annette Lu (
Lu told her visitors that she expected that Germany, which is now led by its first ever female chancellor Angela Merkel, will maintain its efforts to ensure world peace.
Lu said she appreciated the German parliament's decision last year not to allow the lifting of the arms embargo on China.
"The decision is crucial not only to Taiwan but also to the Asia-Pacific region," Lu said.
Stressing China's animosity toward Taiwan, Lu said that President Chen Shui-bian (
If cruise missiles are included in that count, Taiwan is now targeted by more than 800 Chinese missiles, Lu said.
"We clearly know that China wants to extend its power into the Pacific Ocean by taking Taiwan," Lu said.
Lu said she was glad to see the EU expand and that she hopes the EU's 25 members would jointly monitor the development of China's military capabilities in order to ensure peace in the region.
In his New Year address, Chen said that he would not bow to pressure from the opposition parties and China to relax his cross-strait policies. Since then, Chen's idea of "active management, effective opening" has been criticized by opposition parties.
Elaborating on the president's remarks, Presidential office Deputy Secretary-General James Huang (
Huang made the remarks while meeting with foreign correspondents in Taipei to explain Chen's policies.
Huang said that Chen's past "five noes" pledges and his sincere willingness to engage in dialogue with China remain unchanged.
"The president has held out olive branches several times, but the Beijing government remains hostile to Taiwan's government," Huang said.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
RSS