As part of a 12-day tour with visits to six US cities, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) addressed nearly 1,000 Taiwanese-Americans and others in New York City on Friday night, who came out to show their support for her and her campaign for next year’s presidential election.
“This is a city filled with hope,” Tsai told the mostly Taiwanese crowd, with people having traveled from Boston, Philadelphia, Rhode Island and elsewhere to listen to her address.
Tsai’s stop in Brooklyn, at the Marriott Hotel near the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, came after a series of closed-door meetings over the past week with Washington officials and politicians.
Photo: CNA
US Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain and Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat who is a ranking member of that committee, were among the participants in the talks, sources said.
In her New York speech, Tsai asked Taiwanese to have confidence in Taiwan and said that the DPP is the only party that is capable of uniting the nation.
“Taiwanese value the freedom of democracy, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly,” she said.
Tsai’s trip drew criticism from Chinese officials.
“We demand that the United States strictly abide by the one China principle ... [and] not send the wrong signal to Taiwan,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hong Lei (洪磊) said at a news conference on Friday, according to Reuters.
Tsai emphasized peace as the only option for resolving conflicts in Asia.
“Taiwan is eager to share and inspire our neighbors in Asia, to inspire and make Asia a better place,” she said.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese