President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) last night stressed that he had not altered his basic stance on upholding Taiwan's national sovereignty and dignity, amid the recent controversy triggered by opposition party leaders' trips to China.
"We will never waver in our insistence to push forward democratic reforms, and we will uphold the political line of identifying with Taiwan," Chen said. "And we will continue to commit ourselves to turning Taiwan into a normal, progressive, beautiful and great country."
The president made the remarks last night while meeting with ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) city and county chiefs, legislators and party leadership to communicate with them on the controversy within the party regarding Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
The remarks were made against the backdrop of criticism that the DPP leadership's stance toward the visits has been inconsistent, which has caused party members' support to waver in the runup to next Saturday's National Assembly elections.
Noting that China is well known for its "united front" tactics against Taiwan -- which aim to co-opt key sectors of Taiwanese society in order to further Beijing's goal of unification -- Chen urged the party and public to stay united, saying that only China would benefit if the nation becomes divided.
"Just because recent polls suggest that support for the DPP has declined, [that doesn't mean that] the grassroots supporters have shifted their support to other parties," Chen said. "Party members need to have confidence in ourselves."
Chen said that while he did not oppose Lien and Soong's trips to China, that does not mean that he agrees with all of their rhetoric during their visits.
Saying that China had attempted to collaborate with the opposition parties to influence the upcoming election and hence prevent democratic reforms, Chen called on party members to stay united and confident.
Also see story:
CROSS-STRAIT COLLABORATION: The new KMT chairwoman expressed interest in meeting the Chinese president from the start, but she’ll have to pay to get in Beijing allegedly agreed to let Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) around the Lunar New Year holiday next year on three conditions, including that the KMT block Taiwan’s arms purchases, a source said yesterday. Cheng has expressed interest in meeting Xi since she won the KMT’s chairmanship election in October. A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a consensus on a meeting was allegedly reached after two KMT vice chairmen visited China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao (宋濤) in China last month. Beijing allegedly gave the KMT three conditions it had to
STAYING ALERT: China this week deployed its largest maritime show of force to date in the region, prompting concern in Taipei and Tokyo, which Beijing has brushed off Deterring conflict over Taiwan is a priority, the White House said in its National Security Strategy published yesterday, which also called on Japan and South Korea to increase their defense spending to help protect the first island chain. Taiwan is strategically positioned between Northeast and Southeast Asia, and provides direct access to the second island chain, with one-third of global shipping passing through the South China Sea, the report said. Given the implications for the US economy, along with Taiwan’s dominance in semiconductors, “deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority,” it said. However, the strategy also reiterated
‘BALANCE OF POWER’: Hegseth said that the US did not want to ‘strangle’ China, but to ensure that none of Washington’s allies would be vulnerable to military aggression Washington has no intention of changing the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Saturday, adding that one of the US military’s main priorities is to deter China “through strength, not through confrontation.” Speaking at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, Hegseth outlined the US Department of Defense’s priorities under US President Donald Trump. “First, defending the US homeland and our hemisphere. Second, deterring China through strength, not confrontation. Third, increased burden sharing for us, allies and partners. And fourth, supercharging the US defense industrial base,” he said. US-China relations under
The Chien Feng IV (勁蜂, Mighty Hornet) loitering munition is on track to enter flight tests next month in connection with potential adoption by Taiwanese and US armed forces, a government source said yesterday. The kamikaze drone, which boasts a range of 1,000km, debuted at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in September, the official said on condition of anonymity. The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and US-based Kratos Defense jointly developed the platform by leveraging the engine and airframe of the latter’s MQM-178 Firejet target drone, they said. The uncrewed aerial vehicle is designed to utilize an artificial intelligence computer
RSS