Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) revealed her interest in running for the presidency again in 2016 for the first time since losing in January’s presidential election, saying in a television interview aired last night that she would make herself an “option.”
“As a politician, I will continue to make myself an option,” Tsai said in response to a question on whether she plans to run again in four years in an interview with Sanlih television, the first she has given since the election.
The two-hour interview was conducted on Thursday.
Tsai addressed a wide range of recent issues that have caused social instability and said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) should stop behaving as a one-man show because one person alone can neither represent his own party nor the entire nation.
Ma’s decision-making process reflects that his mind is still set in the framework of the former authoritarian regime, she said.
In spite of Ma proclaiming his admiration and respect for former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) — who was described by some as “always listening to the people’s voice” — Tsai said that the governance, teams and political environment of Ma and Chiang’s respective reigns differed drastically.
Ma has done the opposite of Chiang by insisting on raising the prices of fuel and electricity as well as levying a securities tax, she said.
The president caved in to foreign pressure in the US beef import controversy and transferred domestic pressure, such as the state-run companies’ demand to raise fuel and electricity prices, onto the public without seeking real solutions to either issue.
“People found out that this government is no longer trustworthy,” Tsai said.
On Ma’s proposal of “one country, two areas (一國兩區),” Tsai said Ma has caused great harm to Taiwan’s national status through his misinterpretation of the Constitution.
Ma has reformulated the design of “Taiwan and Mainland areas,” as stipulated in the Constitution, into his own version of relations between the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China, she said.
The former chairperson said that the 40 DPP legislators have done “quite well” in the Legislative Yuan with their persistent monitoring of the administrative branch.
Tsai expected the DPP to continue to represent the people’s true voice, as it has always done.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
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
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
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