The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday accused an academic affiliated with a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) think tank of making false accusations over DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) policy proposal on the South China Sea.
In a letter to the editor published in the Chinese-language China Times yesterday, Edward Chen (陳一新), a professor at Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of the Americas, said he is worried Tsai might give up the Republic of China’s claims of sovereignty in the South China Sea, breaking the cross-strait “status quo.”
Chen said in the letter that he is worried because Tsai said that she would handle the South China Sea issue according to international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Chen said Tsai’s “proactive peace diplomacy” policy proposal is similar to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “proactive pacifism,” adding that Tsai might look to the US for her foreign policy, causing concern that Tsai may break the cross-strait “status quo” on the South China Sea.
DPP spokesperson Juan Chao-hsiung (阮昭雄) yesterday slammed Chen over the article, saying it contained false accusations.
“It’s a rather irresponsible act for Chen, an academic and a professor, to make baseless and biased remarks affiliated with certain political ideology,” Juan told a press conference. “Chen is yet to apologize for his false remarks last time and is already making new ones.”
“He is obviously ignoring academic ethics and intentionally trying to misguide public opinion; such an act would only make people cast doubt on his academic and professional judgements,” Juan added.
Juan said the DPP has explained its stance on the South China Sea clearly, that is, the DPP will not give up Taiwan’s sovereignty claim, but would handle the controversial parts according to international law, namely the UNCLOS, so that the controversies may be solved peacefully under an international mechanism.
“This is an important basis on which the surrounding countries may reach a consensus,” Juan said. “Tsai also insists that [anyone’s] right to sail freely on the high seas should be protected; this is the DPP’s stance on the issue.”
Juan urged Chen to show more self-respect and refrain from becoming a propaganda agent for the KMT.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
RSS