Taiwan independence advocates protested in Taipei yesterday, accusing leading Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members of collaborating with China to destroy Taiwan from within.
Led by the Taiwan Republic Office group, protesters carried placards and shouted slogans outside the TVBS Media building in Neihu District (內湖), where the four candidates competing in the election for KMT chairperson were attending a televised policy debate yesterday afternoon.
Taiwan Republic Office director Chilly Chen (陳峻涵) criticized top KMT officials for “hanging on to the myth” of the so-called “1992 consensus” and the “one China” concept.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
He compared the KMT to a large termite nest, with the four candidates for chairperson competing to become the “termite queen.”
“All top figures in the KMT hold pro-China views, pandering to the Beijing government’s interests. Their ... words and actions are designed to tear apart Taiwan’s social cohesion and subvert our national unity,” Chen said.
Taiwan Republic Office member Lai Fu-jung (賴富榮) said that KMT members are like termites because they are eating away at the national and cultural identities of Taiwanese, which has serious consequences for the armed forces and their duty to safeguard Taiwan’s national sovereignty.
The protesters shouted slogans as each of the four KMT candidates arrived, namely incumbent KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), former Changhua County commissioner Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) and Sun Yat-sen School president Chang Ya-chung (張亞中).
Chang created a minor disturbance when he stopped to respond to the protesters, giving a thumbs-down sign. Police officers moved quickly to prevent a confrontation between the two groups.
The so-called “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS