Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday welcomed US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and dismissed rumors of fractured opinions within the party regarding the visit.
The KMT has always adopted a pro-US stance, Chu said.
The KMT’s official stance is that Pelosi’s visit is a welcome move, despite dissenting comments by individual party members, Chu said.
Photo: Wong Yu-huang, Taipei Times
Chu referred to remarks by Legislator Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷), who said “provoking the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] is unnecessary,” and Legislator Yeh Yu-lan (葉毓蘭), who said that Pelosi’s visit harms Taiwanese businesses, as China reacted by imposing import bans.
The KMT is dedicated to the defense of Taiwanese, upholding regional peace and looking out for Taiwan’s interests, Chu said, adding that the party is willing to work with all international friends who are sincere about their intent to boost the Republic of China’s interests.
Chu chided Beijing for resorting to military exercises to express its discontent over the visit, saying that his position has always been that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait must engage in dialogue and try to understand instead of antagonizing each other.
The US Congress represents the will of Americans, and while Washington’s policies toward China have not changed, Taiwan should welcome the support of the US public, he added.
Separately, KMT legislative caucus whip William Tseng (曾銘宗) said the KMT would stand with other democratic countries to jointly uphold peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
Tseng made the remarks at the KMT caucus’ news conference after a closed-door meeting with Pelosi, Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) and three legislative caucus conveners of other parties.
“We hope the visit will bring about stability and peace in the Taiwan Strait,” Tseng said.
Tseng said that the talks dealt with enhancing supply chains, including the roles of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and other chipmakers.
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,
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
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
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial