National security officials yesterday said that there was no evidence that China was playing a role in the campaign to oust President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
"We have been gathering in-depth intelligence for a long time. As of now, we have not found any linkage [between China and the anti-Chen campaign]," said Yang Kuo-chiang (
Yang made the remarks after a closed-door meeting on the issue with Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) lawmakers.
Organizers of the anti-Chen campaign have complained that Chen and Formosa TV Station slandered them by suggesting that their efforts were supported by Beijing.
The campaign has threatened to file lawsuits.
The Presidential Office has denied that Chen suggested any such thing, and Formosa TV has replied that it merely aired a segment in which an academic pointed out the links between the campaign's slogans and classic Chinese songs.
However, Democratic Progressive Party Chairman Yu Shyi-kun has appealed several times to pro-Chen supporters to back Chen with rhetoric that "the [anti-Chen] campaign is a move by the Chinese to bully Taiwanese."
But despite the intelligence officials' briefing yesterday, TSU lawmakers remained dubious, insisting that Beijing had a hand in the campaign, if only indirectly.
"China has spent some NT$5 billion [US$152 million] to financially support Taiwan's media. That's why so many have shown their bias by promoting the anti-Chen campaign," Legislator Liao Pen-yen (
Legislator Ho Min-hao (何敏豪) asked the officials to investigate whether the Chinese government had sent agents to Taiwan under the guise of tourists to attend the anti-Chen campaign.
"On Sept. 14, 467 Chinese tourists came to Taiwan, which was higher than the average of about 100 people. This made me wonder whether they actually came for the `915 Siege,'" Ho said, referring to the anti-Chen campaign's massive march on Sept. 15.
Yang responded by saying there was no evidence of this.
Meanwhile, Vice Chief of the Military Intelligence Bureau Shen Shih-chih (
Vice Minister of National Defense Ko Cheng-heng (柯承亨) said that China had good reason to avoid any military movements.
"China might worry that any military movement would spark concerns from the US and Japan. Also, China wouldn't want to take the risk that Taiwan might try to shift the [public's] focus away from the anti-Chen campaign and toward a cross-strait crisis by seizing on its military movements," Ko said.
‘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
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS