Taipei accused Beijing yesterday of pouring money into the Marshall Islands to help the opposition in the just-concluded national elections in a bid to encourage the country to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China.
"We are fully aware of China's interference in the election, which had a great impact on the results," said Donald Lee (
Although the ballot count has yet to be finalized, the opposition camp declared victory in the Marshall Islands' election last week.
A change of government in the Marshall Islands would raise concerns over its continued diplomatic ties with Taiwan, as Marshall Islands Parliamentary Speaker Litokwa Tomeing has declared his intention of establishing relations with Beijing.
Two days before the Nov. 19 election, Tomeing said the Marshall Islands had "wronged" China by recognizing Taiwan in 1998 and that it was time to "fix this problem by adopting a `one China' policy."
Tomeing defected from President Kessai Note's United Democratic Party the week before the election, joining the Aelon Kein Ad (AKA) Party, a main member of the opposition coalition known as the United People's Party.
"China has taken steps to work with the AKA, but the situation [how it views diplomatic relations with Taiwan] is now different," Lee said.
"We learned [on Monday] that Tomeing called our embassy and said that he was in no position to speak on behalf of the AKA [on the subject of] the Marshall Islands switching diplomatic ties to Beijing," Lee said.
"AKA spokesman Tony de Brum said two days ago that his party would continue to support Taiwan if it won the election and formed a new government," he said.
Beside condemning Beijing's interference in the election, Lee blasted some Marshall Islands-based Taiwanese businessmen for "helping" Beijing's campaign for AKA candidates.
"With help from Taiwanese businesspeople there, Beijing poured substantial amounts of money into the AKA candidates' campaigns three or four days before the election. They were unscrupulous. It's hard to believe they would choose to be Beijing's stooges," Lee said.
In related developments, Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) said at a separate setting that the government would spare no effort to maintain diplomatic relations with the Marshall Islands.
Asked whether Taiwanese businesspeople were involved in Beijing's interference in the election, Huang said the ministry required more time to assess the situation.
"We do have some information, but we don't want to mislead anyone," Huang said.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS