As the security of the Taiwan Strait will be subsumed into the US-Japan joint pact and presented as a "common strategic objective" by the two powers, members of Taiwan Society North (TSN, 北社) yesterday said that this is the optimal time for Taiwan to voice its strong opposition to Beijing's planned anti-secession law. They also asked the pan-blue camp to declare its stance on Beijing's proposed legislation.
"It is absolutely favorable to Taiwan that the US government announced the inclusion of the security of the Taiwan Strait in the US-Japanese Security Alliance pact before China formally enacts the anti-secession law," TSN chairman Wu Shuh-min (吳樹民) said yesterday at a seminar held by the society on "what could Taiwan do to counter China's planned anti-secession law" at the National Taiwan University (NTU) Conference Center.
"Although the pact mainly focused on the interests of the US and Japan, it also aimed at warning China not to have its way with Taiwan and not to make the so-called anti-secession law arbitrary," Wu said.
"Taiwan should take advantage of this time to accentuate the gravity of Beijing's anti-secession law domestically and internationally to stop China legislating this law," Wu said.
Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明), a political analyst and assistant researcher of the Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences at Academia Sinica, suggested that pro-independence groups like the TSN or the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) start with visiting Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who is now campaigning for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmanship.
He also asked Ma to show his support for making a "anti-annexation law" to counter Beijing's legislation.
"It is almost certain that Ma will run for the presidency representing the KMT in 2008, and he might be happy to react to this demand by the pro-independence groups, because it could add some `local color' to his campaign, in a sense." Hsu said.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
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