Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (
Hsieh, who returned from his 10-day trip to the US yesterday morning, told a press conference that he and the US officials he met -- from the US State Department, Department of Defense, the office of US Vice President Dick Cheney and important aides to both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party -- "had engaged each other in the most honest and effective communication."
Hsieh also said he conveyed to the US officials Taiwan's urgent need to solidify its national consciousness and it's feeling of being isolated in the world.
Hsieh said that he communicated the idea that the referendum on applying for UN membership under the name "Taiwan" is a necessary step to improve the nation's security.
"But we are also willing to find co-existence between Taiwan's interests and the US' interests," he said.
"The US is not against Taiwan's pursuit of democracy and our desire to be masters of our own fate through referendums," Hsieh said.
"What the US is concerned about is whether we respect it as a friend," he said.
"We need to create a win-win situation between the US and Taiwan," he said.
Hsieh said he told the US officials that the DPP was not pushing the UN bid to change the "status quo" but because "Taiwan needs to gain representation in the world."
"Based on the UN's principles, it is very strange that the 23 million people in Taiwan are not represented in there," he said.
Hsieh said reasons for pushing the UN bid under the name "Taiwan" include the nation's many failed attempts to join the UN under the name "Republic of China," the fact that the People's Republic of China does not represent Taiwan and that the name "Taiwan" is better known around the world than "Republic of China."
"It is OK that they [the international community] call us `Chinese Taipei.' Of course we can also be called `Taiwan,'" he said.
Hsieh said many factors had contributed to the low mutual trust between the US and Taiwan over the past seven years, adding that Taiwan's delayed arms procurement was one of them.
Hsieh criticized Chinese Nationalist Party counterpart Ma Ying-jeou (
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,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
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
RSS