The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus yesterday criticized vice president-elect Vincent Siew’s (蕭萬長) weekend trip to the Boao Forum in China, calling it a “disgrace” for Taiwan.
“I really hope that when Taiwan and China resume their talks in the future, the way Siew was treated in Boao will not become a regular occurrence,” DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said during a press conference yesterday morning.
Lai said that China had treated Siew like a local government head since Siew was made to sit with the chief executives of Hong Kong and Macau. Siew also had to use his “Taiwan compatriot travel document” to enter China, they said.
“All of the related documents, propaganda and the Web site for the Boao Forum listed Taiwan along with Hong Kong and Macau as parts of China. The Chinese government also took advantage of this international event to promote its ‘one China’ policy. These moves all jeopardized Taiwan’s sovereignty,” DPP deputy caucus whip Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said.
PRAISE FOR EFFORTS
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus, however, yesterday lauded Siew’s efforts, saying that he had been able to reconfirm that the so-called “1992 consensus” would be the basis of future cross-strait communication.
At a press conference held by KMT caucus acting secretary-general Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑), KMT Legislator Sun Ta-chien (孫大千) said Siew’s confirmation of the consensus during his meeting with Hu had proven that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had been wrong when he said that the consensus did not exist.
Siew had also been able to make sure that Taiwan and China would push cross-strait trade and economic cooperation on the basis of co-existence and co-prosperity, Sun said.
“The greatest accomplishment of the forum is that, as Mr Siew said, [both sides] agreed to put aside controversy and pursue win-win cross-strait relations,” Hsieh told the conference.
INTERNATIONAL VIEWS
KMT Legislator Lee Jih-chu (李紀珠) urged the public to give Siew credit because the international community had viewed Siew’s meeting with Hu positively.
She added that the KMT has the ability to carry out agreements reached during the Siew-Hu meeting after the transition of power next month.
In related developments, KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said China’s intent to invest in Ma’s “i-Taiwan 12 infrastructure projects” would not create a problem as long as the transparency of the investment is ensured.
“We should look at the issue from an economic point of view. If we only consider [cross-strait] issues from a political perspective, cross-strait relations will always be clouded,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) of the DPP vowed to safeguard the city’s interests by asking the president-elect to require Chinese tourists arrive and leave the nation from Kaohsiung — a move she said would help the city benefit from the expected boom in Chinese tourism.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
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,
RSS