The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should prohibit government-funded organizations from attending official events held by the Chinese government, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said yesterday, citing as an example a Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) official who attended China’s military parade last month.
Tsai asked Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) during a question-and-answer session at the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee whether it is appropriate for staff of government-subsidized institutes to attend the parade in Beijing.
“It is not appropriate,” Lin said.
Tsai was referring to George Tsai (蔡瑋), then-vice president of TFD who visited China and attended the military parade last month.
“The TFD is a foundation that is fully subsidized — with NT$105 million [US$3.23 million] – by the ministry,” the lawmaker said.
“The foundation is one that is supposed to champion democracy, liberty and human rights. George Tsai’s participation in the military parade has damaged the values upheld by the foundation,” he said.
Lin said he was not informed of the matter before or after the event.
“TFD president Huang Teh-fu (黃德福) also did not approve of the visit and asked George Tsai to leave. However, under pressure from higher authorities, he was able to stay in the foundation as a senior research fellow,” the lawmaker said.
Tsai Huang-liang added that George Tsai’s presence during the military parade was tantamount to an endorsement of China flexing its military muscle and denying Taiwanese sovereignty.
Lin said he would pass the legislator’s opinion on to the foundation, but did not promise to issue a ban, saying: “The foundation is an independently run organization.”
The TFD later said that George Tsai did not attend the military parade “in his capacity as the foundation’s vice president,” but as a professor at Chinese Culture University in Taipei.
The foundation added that George Tsai was transferred to his new post of senior research fellow because his term as vice president ended last month.
His term as research fellow, which started this month, is scheduled to end on June 16 next year, it said.
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation
Taiwan and the US have begun trade negotiations over tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump earlier this month, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said in an interview this morning before reporting to the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), Taiwan’s de facto embassy in the US, has already established communication channels with the US Department of State and the US Trade Representative (USTR), and is engaging in intensive consultations, he said. Points of negotiation include tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and issues related to investment, procurement and export controls, he
RSS