Vice President Annette Lu (
Lien's trip to China weakened Taiwan's government, polarized the Taiwanese people, demeaned national sovereignty and created an illusion on an international stage, the vice president said. Her criticism came one day after the meeting between Lien and Chinese President Hu Jintao (
During their more than two hour meeting in Beijing on Friday, the two agreed to a five-point "vision for cross-strait peace" based on the so-called "1992 consensus."
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
According to KMT spokesman Chang Jung-kung (
Stating that China has in recent years continued to boost its annual defense budget, Lu told the audience that the ballistic missiles China has deployed along its southeastern coast within striking distance of Taiwan has grown from two in 1996 to more than 700 now, adding that the number could very well increase to 800 or even a thousand by next year.
"Despite this situation, a demand for the removal of the ballistic missiles was not mentioned in the conversation between Chairman Lien and Mr. Hu, who merely talked about `peace.' This kind of vision of `peace' without substantial content reminds me of Zhang Ying (
Zhang was found guilty of fraud in 2002 and sentenced to one year and two months in prison.
Lu said that Lien, despite having served as vice president and premier in Taiwan, had avoided mentioning these facts during his speech at Peking University, nor did he mention the term "Republic of China" (ROC) at all, except when he laid a wreath at Sun Yat-sen's (孫中山) mausoleum in Nanjing.
"The Beijing authorities are the only people in the world who wish to wipe out the ROC," Lu said. "Lien, being the ROC's opposition party leader, who proclaims often he will safeguard the ROC's sovereignty, dared not speak about China's violation of human rights, but twisted Taiwan's democracy as populism in his speech in Peking University."
"When he was asked `what is the thing he wishes to do first upon returning to Taiwan,' he replied that he `hopes all could identify with the country.' To make that statement in Beijing, it is worth contemplating what country he was referring to," the vice president said in a speech at a Lion's Club meeting in Taipei.
She also dismissed the so-called "1992 consensus" on the "one China" principle mentioned in a news statement released after the Lien-Hu talks as non-existent.
Lu then called on the nation's people to heed the situation, stressing that the ROC is an independent, sovereign state whose sovereign rights belong to its 23 million people, and that any changes to the state quo can only be determined by its people.
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS