Former President Lee Teng-hui (
Lee, who is the spiritual leader of the pro-independence opposition Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), made the remarks while addressing a seminar held in Taoyuan for 70 members of the Association of Lee Teng-hui's Friends in Japan.
In his speech, Lee thanked all association members for their participation in a rally held on Feb. 28 in Tokyo to oppose Beijing's plan to enact the "anti-secession" law, which provides the Chinese military with a legal basis to use force against Taiwan in certain situations.
In addition to Taiwanese expatriates, many of Taiwan's friends from Japan and Tibet also took part in the demonstration to protest China's desire for hegemony, Lee said.
Noting that Beijing authorities are seeking to annex Taiwan by enacting the "anti-secession" law, Lee said that Japan should not adopt a wait-and-see attitude but should help the Taiwan government block the possibility of China invading.
Should Taiwan and Japan fail to do anything, East Asian countries can expect to face a serious disaster in the near future, Lee claimed.
Consequently, the outspoken former president urged all democracy- and peace-loving countries to join hands to safeguard stability and peace in the East Asian region.
China's National People's Congress is expected to pass the "anti-secession" bill today.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and