Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday she would not rule out visiting China as the founder of Formosa Weekly (玉山週報).
While introducing the newspaper’s trial issue yesterday, Lu condemned President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration for embracing the concept of “one China” despite the military threat from Beijing.
Lu had planned to print a daily newspaper, the Formosa Post (玉山午報), but changed it to a weekly paper because of funding problems. An online version of the weekly paper and the Formosa Post will be launched in the future, she told a press conference at her office.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
When asked to comment on whether she would visit China in her new role as a newspaper publisher, Lu said she would discuss the matter with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and make sure any such visit would not damage Taiwan’s dignity.
“I am not against [visiting China], but there’s no timetable. I don’t have to go,” she said.
Lu sparked debate within the DPP over her apparent willingness to visit China with some party members strongly opposed to any trip.
Lu said that she and her staff do not hold any positions in the DPP and she had founded the newspaper as an ordinary citizen.
The trial issue, which hit the newsstands yesterday, covered the problems the DPP faces as an opposition party and the Ma administration’s efforts to develop nuclear power plants.
The next trial issue will be available on May 20, and the official launch of the Formosa Post is scheduled for July 1, the former vice president said.
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