Independence activists yesterday said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had disqualified himself as a national leader following his controversial remark that Taiwan “will never ask the Americans to fight for Taiwan in a war.”
The Taiwan Nation Alliance and Taiwan National Security Institute issued a joint statement, in Chinese and English, denouncing Ma for seriously compromising Taiwan's security and discrediting himself as Taiwan's head of state.
They said Ma's remarks “fundamentally contravene the majority will of the people of Taiwan” and that the overwhelming majority of Taiwanese welcomed US support for maintaining peace and security in the Taiwan Strait, including dispatching soldiers if necessary.
They also said the will of the majority dovetailed with the US interest of seeing a democratic, free and prosperous Taiwan and maintaining peace and security in the East Asian region.
Ma's submission to China would lead to the ultimate extinction of Taiwan and turmoil in East Asia, they said.
Ma's comment would pave the way for China's military conquest of Taiwan and his attempt to sell out Taiwan would be repudiated by Taiwanese in the presidential election in 2012, they said.
They appealed to the US to continue to sell Taiwan defensive weapons, including F-16C/D fighter jets and submarines, and maintain its commitment to safeguarding peace and security in the Taiwan Strait.
Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) said Ma seemed to speak on behalf of China rather than Taiwan.
“What he said runs against Taiwan's security and national interest,” he said. “Taiwan needs international support and we must accelerate the effort to build a Taiwanese nation.”
Taiwan New Century Foundation chairman Chen Lung-chu (陳隆志) said Ma made a “big blunder” when he made the remarks and Ma did not speak for most Taiwanese.
“We the Taiwanese people realize that we must do our utmost to defend and protect our nation,” Chen said. “But in a globalized world of ever increasing interdependence and danger, which country in the world can really stand alone? Collective security of mutual defense and assistance is the answer.”
Chen said Taiwan now has a president who has shown “every sign of leaning on China and of submitting to China's will in [Ma's] pursuit of so-called ‘ultimate unification with China,’” adding that Ma betrayed his campaign promises and acted against the popular will of the Taiwanese people.
Saying Ma’s remarks would invite great disaster, former representative to Japan Koh Se-kai (許世楷) said he hoped Ma made the remarks out of ignorance and not intentionally.
Reverend William Luo (羅榮光) of the Presbyterian Church urged Taiwanese voters “never” to elect Ma again, describing him as dictatorial and determined to sell out Taiwan.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as