President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) on Monday bitterly lashed out at former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), who has criticized him for not moving faster on Taiwan's independence.
He said that Lee was asking him to do something that Lee himself couldn't pull off during 12 years as president.
"There can only be one president in a country, not two," Chen said, suggesting that Lee was trying to undercut his position.
Chen made the remark during a live TV interview broadcast on Monday night.
During the interview, Chen said Lee put forward the famous "special state-to-state relationship" proposal to describe Taiwan-China ties on July 9, 1997, but withdrew that statement within five days.
Chen also said that he had personally asked Lee why he did not deny the existence of the so-called "1992 consensus" in 2000 when Lee handed over power to Chen.
If Lee had done that, Chen said, things would not have turned out the way they are today.
In an apparent move to appease pro-independence supporters, Chen said that his government has been pressing ahead with efforts to promote Taiwan's self-identity.
"I never delayed the [national] `title rectification' campaign, and in fact, in [one of] my overseas visits, I changed the title of our agricultural consultation corps in our diplomatic ally from the `Republic of China' to `Taiwan,'" he said, without naming the country.
In his interview, Chen said he chose to cooperate with People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
To enable the lawmaking body to pass bills, he had to bow to reality and cooperate with the opposition leader.
He said that despite the alliance, he had never delayed the government's efforts to enhance Taiwanese identity.
Chen said that, in addition to gradually taking out the "Republic of China," Taiwan's official title, from Taiwanese overseas missions, the government was "in a quiet way" also changing the titles of state firms bearing the name "China."
He said the government was also adding the name "Taiwan" to ID cards for its nationals to supplement the official title.
"But there is no need to play up the act," he said, because of a possible backlash from Beijing.
Chen also revealed that Soong had promised in person that the PFP would help the controversial special arms-procurement bill clear the legislative floor after he returns from China.
"This is also part of the 10-point consensus between Soong and me, but without a written form," Chen said.
According to Chen, he had asked many times for Soong's help to push through the arms bill when they met or talked on the phone, and Soong had promised many times that he would help the bill get passed.
The president said Soong had told him that he needed some time to address differences within the PFP.
In addition, since Soong was about to visit China at that time, Chen said that he was reluctant to push too hard in relation to the legislation.
"Since we have been waiting so long for the passage of the bill, why not believe him one more time?" he said.
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
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