Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (
"Beijing will never give up its efforts to crush Taiwan at any cost," said Huang, responding to speculation that Beijing could ease its rhetoric against Taiwan ahead of elections to avoid drumming up sympathy for the Democratic Progressive Party.
Huang said Beijing would most likely step up its efforts to oppress Taiwan over the next few months and urged all ministry staffers to watch for Beijing's tricks.
Huang reiterated that the nation would not compete with China in a "dollar diplomacy" race to buy allies because it had no reason to engage in an impossible battle.
"There have been rumors that China has offered a US$6 billion financial package in exchange for Malawi's recognition. We could never afford to compete with such an amount. What we offer, however, is trust, dependability and unwavering friendship," he said, adding that the ministry was closely monitoring the situation in the African country.
Huang said that Taiwan-US ties remain "solid, stable, close and friendly," in spite of Washington's vocal opposition to Taiwan's planned referendum on joining the UN under the name "Taiwan."
"In the past seven and half years, the Taiwan-US relationship has been a roller coaster," he admitted, but stressed Taiwan had not made any "provocative" moves to unilaterally change the "status quo" as it is understood by Washington.
Anything Taiwan does to push along its democratic development will be labeled by its "foe" China as a "provocative maneuver towards de jure independence," Huang said.
Huang said that, in the past few years, the nation had amply demonstrated its wisdom and strength in making progress at home without shedding a drop of blood.
The US and other international players should have confidence in the nation's ability to do its bit to maintain cross-strait peace, he said.
Huang said that although this year had been a "worrisome and difficult" year for the ministry -- marred by Costa Rica's sudden switch of allegiance to China in June -- it was also a year for the ministry to explore new ways of engaging in diplomacy.
Under the leadership of President Chen Shui-bian (
Although both bids were rejected, they were nevertheless milestones in Taiwanese history, he said.
Another ministry accomplishment this year, Huang said, was the restoration of ties with St Lucia in April.
In the future, Taiwan will strive to contribute more to fighting global warming by helping its allies to develop alternative energy and solar power technology, he said.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
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