The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) passed a resolution in its weekly Central Standing Committee meeting yesterday declaring its full support for President Chen Shui-bian's (
Abolishing the council and the guidelines contributed to the nation's effort to prevent the status quo from slanting toward unification and to resist China's attempt to "gradually annex" Taiwan, DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun said.
"Since China passed its `Anti-Secession' Law in 2005, it has built up a cooperative platform with ... the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] to attack Taiwan's democracy," Yu said. "Then KMT chairman [Lien Chan (
Yu added that this had led the "status quo" to tend toward unification and that Taiwanese were losing the freedom to choose their own future.
The abolition of the NUC would be an inevitable outcome of the nation's democratization, he added.
Yu said that the NUC and the guidelines, which were passed by the KMT's Central Standing Committee in 1990 as part of a long-term strategy for eventual unification with China, lack legitimacy and violate the spirit of self-determination.
KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
"The president should think twice and avoid damaging Taiwan-US relations," Ma said yesterday. "He should take full responsibility for the move, instead of shifting the blame onto me."
Ma reminded reporters of Chen's pledges during his inauguration speeches in 2000 and 2004 in which the president promised that during his term, abolishing the unification council or guidelines would "not be an issue."
"Now he suddenly says the guidelines are ridiculous, so of course the US will be surprised ... I hope that he keeps his promises and stops shifting the blame onto others," he added.
Chen's supporters have stressed that the pledges were made on the condition that China had no intention to use military force against Taiwan -- and that China's continued missile buildup since 2000 demonstrated such intent.
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
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