Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday arrived in Tokyo on a visit to meet with friends and Taiwanese expatriates.
Upon arrival at Haneda Airport, Tsai was greeted by a group of her supporters, Taiwanese Representative to Japan Shen Ssu-tsun (沈斯淳) and members of the Japanese media.
Her four-day trip, which she has dubbed a “Taiwan-Japan friendship tour,” is aimed at meeting friends and visiting Taiwanese expatriate communities ahead of next year’s Jan. 16 presidential election, she said in response to questions from Japanese media.
Photo: CNA
Tsai said she also hopes to meet with people in Japan who are familiar with the nation’s efforts to cope with the challenges of globalization and to talk with leaders in the industrial sector about possible cooperation in economic and industrial areas.
Given the opportunity, Tsai said she would also like to exchange ideas with members of Japan’s two main political parties and others in the political arena.
Tsai is leading by a wide margin in public opinion polls and is seen in some quarters as poised to become the nation’s first female president.
Regarding reports that the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) upper echelon has discussed with its presidential candidate, Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), growing calls for Hung to drop out of the race due to her low level of support, Tsai said that it would be inappropriate for her to comment on the matter, as it is a KMT internal issue.
However, she added that “what people want to see is a stable political party and a reliable team, and what Taiwanese have seen recently is that the DPP is a stable political party and a reliable team.”
Additional reporting by Su Fang-ho
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
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we