A coalition of pro-Taiwan independence groups on Thursday urged President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) not to run for president in 2020.
Taiwan Forever Association president Jerry Cheng (鄭文龍) said that Tsai has successfully turned the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) into a “Taiwanese Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)” and cut ties with independence supporters, including the Formosa Alliance — which has called for a referendum on formal independence and participation in the UN — and former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
“The DPP that valued freedom and democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and the spirit of ‘Taiwanese values’ is gone,” Cheng said.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
The “deep green” camp, or independence supporters, commands at least 1 million votes, and should Tsai insist on running for re-election “the independence supporters will not vote for you,” he said.
Tsai does not represent the DPP, nor does the DPP represent Tsai, Taiwan Teachers’ Union chairperson Hsiao Hsiao-ling (蕭曉玲) said, saying that Tsai would not dare admit that she made the final call on the controversial appointment of Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) as National Taiwan University (NTU) president.
“Should the DPP continue its infighting, we will launch our own efforts,” Hsiao said.
Then-minister of education Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) on Monday announced that the Ministry of Education had reluctantly approved Kuan’s appointment.
Premier William Lai (賴清德) the following day approved Yeh’s resignation.
The Presidential office has cited President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) as saying that the decision “caught everyone by surprise.”
However, the groups, citing reports that Lai was only informed by text message less than an hour before Yeh’s announcement, said they were not convinced that Yeh would have made the decision without Tsai’s consent.
Kuan was elected in January.
Although the ministry usually rubber stamps university presidents’ appointments, the ministry declined to approve Kuan’s appointment until Monday, citing flaws in the selection process and an undisclosed potential conflict of interest, as Kuan served as an independent director at Taiwan Mobile Co, while company vice chairman Richard Tsai (蔡明興) sat on the 21-member NTU presidential selection committee.
Additional reporting by CNA
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS