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.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese
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