Taiwan’s sovereignty and national security are in danger of being undermined from within by a proposed amendment from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Weng Hsiao-lin (翁曉玲) that would allow military and key government officials to salute China’s national flag, sing the Chinese national anthem and engage in other actions that recognize Beijing government’s political authority, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said.
Weng’s proposal amounts to opening the door for Taiwan’s retired military generals to take up Chinese propaganda warfare and ‘united front” (統戰) efforts by Beijing to subvert Taiwanese sovereignty, DPP Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) said.
“We see these actions as treason ... to sell out Taiwan to China,” Shen said, adding that Weng’s proposal is the opposite of efforts by DPP lawmakers to safeguard national security against infiltration and subversion by China.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
DPP Legislator Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said that Weng “is dismantling the protective walls safeguarding Taiwan national security, by proposing to remove the laws protecting our national sovereignty.”
Weng in her heart wants to sing the Chinese national anthem and identifies China as her motherland, Hung said, asking whether other KMT officials support Weng’s proposal or view it as representative of the KMT’s party platform.
New Power Party Chairwoman Claire Wang (王婉諭) separately accused Weng of “working in Taiwan’s legislature as a foot soldier for China.”
She added that Weng’s proposal to permit retired generals to show loyalty to Chinese government “is a grave insult to all Taiwanese taxpayers who pay a portion of their hard-earned income toward the generous pensions of these military officials.”
“I want to know if KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) supports Weng’s proposal, which severely endangers Taiwan national sovereignty, and if the whole party agrees with it,” Wang said.
“Are KMT members not aware that China’s political doctrine calls for a military invasion of Taiwan?” she said.
Weng referred to her proposal as a “individual human rights” and “freedom of expression” issue. Earlier this week, she collected sufficient signatures from fellow KMT legislators to propose removing Article 9-3 of the amended Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例).
The article imposed a ban on active-duty military personnel and retired military personnel of major general or higher rank from engaging in acts such as saluting China’s national flag or its emblems, singing Chinese anthems or any other behaviors that recognize China’s political authority.
The same restrictions apply to senior civilian officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mainland Affairs Council, as well as senior officers in national security agencies.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as