On the eve of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, MAC Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) reminded Lien and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) that only the government has the right to negotiate with the Chinese authorities.
Wu said that according to the law, political parties cannot sign agreements of any form with China.
"It is also improper for them to reach verbal deals with China," he warned. "They may break the law if they do so."
Political parties, Wu explained, are different from civic groups in nature; therefore, their leaders' trips to China are not the same as exchanges between unofficial groups from China and Taiwan.
Political parties should keep their activities within acceptable boundaries and understand what their responsibilities are to the nation and the Taiwanese people.
"They are not only responsible for their party members or their own personal status in history," Wu added.
In the "Anti-Secession" Law that it enacted last month, Beijing lowered the status of Taiwan to that of a local government and authorized the use of "non-peaceful" means against Taiwan's 23 million people, Wu said.
He urged Lien and Soong to inform the Chinese authorities of true feelings of the Taiwanese people, who "strongly oppose China's passage of the Anti-Secession Law."
A number of polls have proven that dislike of the Chinese law is widespread among the Taiwanese people, Wu said.
The two chairmen, Wu added, should remind Beijing that the Republic of China (ROC) is a sovereign country and that different governments control the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
"Only Taiwan's 23 million people have the rights to decide any change of the future of the ROC. [The chairmen] should make these points clear to the Chinese leaders. This is their responsibility as leaders of political parties," Wu said.
He repeated that the government wants to normalize cross-strait exchanges in order to increase mutual understanding between the two sides.
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
A Vietnamese migrant worker yesterday won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a Lunar New Year scratch card in Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s (台灣彩券) “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game. The man was the first top-prize winner of the new game launched on Jan. 6 to mark the Lunar New Year. Three Vietnamese migrant workers visited a Taiwan Lottery shop on Xinyue Street in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (崗山), a store representative said. The player bought multiple tickets and, after winning nothing, held the final lottery ticket in one hand and rubbed the store’s statue of the Maitreya Buddha’s belly with the other,
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
RSS