Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
"The Constitution states that the country's title is the Republic of China (ROC). I think it is inappropriate to say that he is running for the presidency of the Republic of Taiwan," Ma said yesterday morning while on a visit to Kaohsiung.
During a visit to Changhua on Tuesday, Hsieh told his supporters that he is running for the presidency of the Republic of Taiwan.
"I am running for the presidency of the ROC, and it's acceptable that some foreign press say we are running for the presidency of Taiwan. But it's definitely not the Republic of Taiwan," Ma said.
KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) also slammed Hsieh's remarks, urging him to withdraw from the presidential race, as the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Law (總統副總統選罷法) states that presidential elections choose the president of the ROC, rather than the nation of Taiwan.
"Hsieh can't run for the presidency of a nation that doesn't exist. He should withdraw from the election, form the nation of Taiwan and then run for its presidency," Wu said.
In response, Hsieh yesterday said although the Constitution stipulates that the nation's title is ROC, the fact that Taiwan is a country does not contradict the title.
"People call [the nation] by many different names. So I was emphasizing the fact that Taiwan is a country. There is no need to argue whether we are running for the presidency of Taiwan or the Republic of Taiwan," Hsieh said.
"We have to recognize ourselves as a nation first and then fight for what we want during negotiations with other countries," he said.
Hsieh also criticized Ma for previously saying that Taiwan is a "political entity" because such a comment has prevented Ma from arguing for Taiwan's sovereignty status with other nations.
Earlier yesterday, Hsieh's spokesman Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) urged Ma to specify whether he considers Taiwan an independent state or just part of China.
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,
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
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
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