Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) had information he wanted to share with a visiting former US official earlier last week, but he did not feel comfortable doing so in the presence of Taiwanese government officials, the Taipei Times has learned.
Lee on Monday met with Richard Armitage, the deputy secretary of state during former US president George W. Bush’s first term in office, during the latter’s visit to Taiwan.
Prior to the meeting, Lee allegedly said that as some Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials would be present during their meeting, he would pass on a message to Armitage in the form of a letter. He allegedly said he could not trust some of the ministry officials and that his discussion would center on general topics like Japan.
As the body responsible for relations with current and retired officials from other countries, it is customary for the ministry to accompany delegations and provide transportation, as well as make arrangements for meetings with Taiwanese officials.
Armitage, who has retained some influence in Washington despite his retirement from government service, was heading a delegation of academics from the Project 2049 Institute, a US-based think tank.
A source close to the former US State Department official who accompanied him on his visit confirmed to the Taipei Times on Wednesday that Lee had given him a letter. The source, who was privy to the contents of the letter — which consisted of a few pages — said it touched on the former president’s apprehensions about the future of Taiwan and the direction of cross-strait talks under the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration.
In one section of his missive, Lee, who was expelled from the KMT in 2001 for his pro-independence views, reportedly says that if President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) were re-elected next year, the future of Taiwan as an independent country would be very much in doubt.
Armitage left Taiwan on Wednesday while the rest of his delegation remained in Taiwan for further meetings.
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
FLU CONTINUES: Hospitals reported 101,091 visits for flu-like illnesses last week, while 68 severe cases and 16 flu-related deaths were also reported, the CDC said The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported 932 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 and 64 related deaths for last week, adding that the number of people who had contracted new SARS-CoV-2 subvariants KP.2 and LB.1 has increased. The number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 increased from 815 in the previous week to 932 last week, while 90 percent of the 64 deceased were aged 65 or older, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. JN.1 was still the dominant variant among local and imported cases in the past four weeks, while KP.2 was the second-most common, Lin said. Cases with the LB.1 subvariant