Saying that many of President Chen Shui-bian's (
Chen and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have been "consistently deceiving" the Taiwan-ese people about Taiwanese independence with talk of "one country on either side" of the Taiwan Strait and of a sovereign Taiwan nation, Lien said yesterday.
Implying that the people still believe in the concept of the "Republic of China" over a Taiwan nation, Lien said that Chen should hold a referendum on Taiwanese independence on Dec. 11, the day of the legislative elections, to see if the people believe in defending the "Republic of China" or in declaring independence.
Lien made the comments yesterday while on a break from electioneering at the KMT's Central Standing Committee meeting in Kaohsiung.
The KMT and its pan-blue allies have long claimed that the Chen administration has heightened tensions with China through pro-independence activities, such as debates on Taiwan's national title, as part of its election rhetoric in the 2004 presidential election and in the current run-up to the legislative elections next month.
While Chen said in 2002 that the relationship between Taiwan and China was of nations on either side of the Taiwan Strait, Chen and the DPP have not pushed for a sovereign Taiwanese nation since he became president in 2000. According to the DPP's current party platform, while Taiwanese sovereignty is already a reality, the establishment of a sovereign Taiwan Republic should be decided by plebiscite.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique