The New Party has made itself a “broker for unification” and Beijing’s endorser through its establishment of an organization to promote a planned cross-strait experimental zone in China, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) said yesterday.
The party’s motive behind its promotion of the Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone in China’s Fujian Province was “suspicious,” TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) told a press conference after the pro-unification New Party announced yesterday the establishment of the Taiwan-Pingtan Relations Association.
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration appears wary of the proposal, with Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) telling lawmakers on Wednesday last week that China has “ulterior motives” and the zone “is not as simple as it looks.”
The establishment of the association ahead of a promotional visit by the Fujian governor to Taiwan reflected the New Party’s attempt to collaborate with the Chinese to achieve their shared goal of unification, Huang said.
Chinese media say the zone, which is on Pingtan Island, 68 nautical miles (125km) from Hsinchu, would host high-tech companies and factories and “deepen cross-strait ties,” but Taiwanese analysts are concerned that Taiwan’s economy would hollow out further if more domestic businesses move their investments there.
TSU Legislator Lin Shih-chia (林世嘉) said incoming Chinese capital and closer cross-strait economic integration following the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) could slowly jeopardize Taiwan’s economy.
She urged the Ma administration to stay alert to China’s attempt of annexing Taiwan through non-military means.
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
The government would cancel kendo practitioner Su Yu-cheng’s (蘇郁程) nationality if he is confirmed to have represented China in the World Kendo Championships in Milan, Italy, last week, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. “We have consulted the Sports Administration and were told that athletes participating in the championships must have the nationality of the country that they represent. They must also present their passports as proof,” council spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a weekly news conference. “If Su indeed represented China in the championships, we suspect that he has obtained Chinese nationality.” The Act Governing Relations Between the People of the
FATAL ILLNESS: Untreated symptoms can rapidly worsen to complications such as high fever, seizures and loss of consciousness, and can be life-threatening, a doctor said Hospitals have been reporting dozens of people with heat-related illnesses every day over the past week, given continuous high daytime temperatures, so recognizing the early signs of heatstroke is crucial in preventing serious complications, a Taipei City Hospital emergency physician said. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a heat alert for 19 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures in New Taipei City, Miaoli County and Pingtung County likely to exceed 38°C, and temperatures in 12 cities and counties likely to exceed 36°C for three days straight. More than a dozen people were taken to hospitals for heat-related illnesses every day from