Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Department of International Affairs director Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) recently wrote on her blog about an exchange with a Chinese official late last month in which the official said that the DPP had no future, that Taiwanese independence was a dead-end road and that China had missiles pointed at Taiwan.
In an interview with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) on Friday, Hsiao said the incident took place late last month in Japan, where she attended a banquet for international representatives hosted by the Fukuoka government.
Hsiao said she shared a table at the Kyushu National Museum with Chinese Consul-General Wu Shumin (武樹民) along with officials from the US consulate, Fukuoka officials and representatives from Thailand and Mongolia.
CHEN CHU
After exchanging name cards, Wu learned that Hsiao was a member of the DPP and said in Chinese that “the DPP’s [Kaohsiung Mayor] Chen Chu (陳菊) has already visited China; after [your people] come, you will change your position of supporting Taiwanese independence,” Hsiao said.
Hsiao said she replied that “Chen’s visit to China does not have any effect on our position of supporting Taiwanese independence. If you are willing to move your missiles, I might be more willing to visit.”
She said Wu responded: “What would removing the missiles do? We can hit you even if we pull the missiles all the way back to Beijing. We don’t just have short-range missiles, we have plenty of mid-range missiles too.”
INTERNATIONAL SPACE
Hsiao quoted Wu as saying: “[The DPP] has done its thing for eight years, but didn’t [former president] Chen Shui-bian [陳水扁] end up in jail? What international space? [President] Ma Ying-jeou [馬英九] accepts the one China principle, so we give him international space. The DPP wants independence for Taiwan, and that is a dead-end road. You are not even from an academic field, so what are you doing here? The DPP is a party without a future unless it accepts the one China [principle].”
In response to Wu’s comments, Hsiao said she turned around and translated Wu’s entire statement into English to the foreign representatives who shared a table with them, which she said embarrassed Wu.
DETERMINATION
Hsiao said in the interview with the Liberty Times that when she encountered people like Wu it made her more upset with the Chinese government.
“You could even say that he poured a whole barrel of oil on my fire for Taiwanese independence,” she said. “It only made our will to fight for Taiwan’s democracy and independence stronger.”
The Ma administration’s policy of pursuing a “diplomatic truce” with China has sent a signal that is excessively generous, she said, adding that China was responding by oppressing and insulting Taiwan.
“Ma’s foreign policy is unrealistic,” she said.
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
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
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
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have
RSS