The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) confirmed yesterday that eight DPP legislators were still awaiting visas to travel to Hong Kong for ROC National Day celebrations, while nine KMT and PFP lawmakers in the same delegation have already received theirs.
But Chen Chung-hong (
"The Hong Kong government usually rejects visa applications from DPP officials. We should not read too much into this particular instance," Chen said.
The 18-member delegation hopes to attend activities related to the Hsinhai Revolution (
However, only one DPP legislator, Chang Chin-fang (
Since President Chen Shui-bian (
KMT and PFP lawmakers have not experienced such difficulties.
Only one TSU lawmaker has ever succeeded in obtaining a visa to Hong Kong and China, while at least half of the party's 13 lawmakers have had their visa applications rejected.
Chen Chung-hong (陳崇弘), the director of the MAC's Department of Information and Liaison, said that the eight DPP lawmakers in the delegation have gone to Macau to wait for their visas.
"If they get their visas approved in time, they will go to Hong Kong to participate in those activities. Otherwise they will come back to Taiwan," Chen Chung-hong said.
Meanwhile, Director of the DPP's Chinese Affairs Department Chen Chung-hsin (
Chen Chung-hsin assumed his current party post at the end of July, the same time as Chen Shui-bian took over the party chairmanship.
"I have a lot of things to do here in Taiwan. And I turned my visa application in very late last Friday. It is not necessary to think about things in a complicated way," he told the Taipei Times, declining to comment further.
According to the MAC, the DPP lawmakers who are still waiting for visas are Lee Chen-nan (李鎮楠), Lee Ming-hsien (李明憲), Chiu Chuang-chin (邱創進), Chen Mao-nan (陳茂男), Ho Chin-sung (何金松), Tang Hou-sheng (湯火聖), Chang Hua-kuan (張花冠) and Wang Shu-hui (王淑慧).
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS