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.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
RSS