Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who was sworn in yesterday, said that she was concerned that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) talked a lot about closer cross-strait relations in his inaugural speech on Tuesday, but made no mention of Taiwan's sovereignty.
“In his entire inaugural speech, Ma didn’t say Taiwan or the Republic of China is a sovereign state,” Tsai said at her inauguration at DPP headquarters in Taipei yesterday morning.
“He didn’t even mention that Taiwan’s future should be decided by all Taiwanese people — something he repeatedly said during his presidential campaign,” Tsai said.
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
“It is worrying that the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] seems to be overlooking the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty,” she said.
Tsai won the chairmanship election on Sunday with more than 73,000 votes — making her not only the DPP’s first chairwoman but the highest vote-getter in the party’s history.
Tsai said the DPP would strive to protect Taiwan’s sovereignty while maintaining the nation’s cultural and ethnic diversity.
“Ma’s inaugural speech made me believe that the DPP will be carrying a heavy burden,” the chairwoman said.
“We must stand united with other political parties that share our beliefs to defend Taiwan’s interests, review the party’s accomplishments and mistakes, further connect ourselves to society, work to deepen Taiwan-oriented values and defend social justice in the globalized world,” Tsai said. “Then the DPP will rise again.”
Her predecessor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) agreed with Tsai and called on all party members to stand behind her.
Tsai also said that the DPP would develop an economic plan different from that of the KMT.
“As an opposition party with governing experience, the DPP must come up with a set of economic strategies to overcome the challenges brought about by globalization,” she said.
“The DPP’s economic policy will put equal weight on economic growth, social justice and ecological conservation,” she said.
“We must provide the people with an enjoyable life, high-quality education and a clean environment — that’s how the DPP will differ from the KMT,” she said.
Tsai got straight down to work yesterday afternoon by presiding over the weekly Central Standing Committee meeting. She asked the committee members to start brainstorming on campaign strategies for next year’s county commissioner and mayoral elections.
“We also touched on improving the party’s ability to deal with policy issues, talked about setting up a think tank and discussed some legislative bills,” she told a press conference after the meeting.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
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
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
RSS