Amid the pan-blue camp's drive to oust President Chen Shui-bian (
About 50 pro-independence groups, including the Taiwan Hand-in-Hand Alliance, World United Formosans for Independence, Taiwan Professors Association, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan held a news conference yesterday afternoon to urge opposition parties to stop their "destructive action" and attempts to bring down the government.
The groups also said they expect that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government will conduct reforms in an effective and timely manner in order to regain the public's trust.
Taiwan Hand-in-Hand Alliance leader Ng Chiau-tong (
"Taiwan is a mature society that values law and order. We believe that the corruption allegations will be cleared up through the probes," Ng said. "But we cannot agree with the pan-blue camp's attempt to recall the president, which is nothing but a conspiracy led by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to seize power and stir up political instability."
The pro-independence groups also urged the DPP's factions to work together and put aside self-interest and political calculations in order to resolve the most severe crisis the party has ever faced.
DPP Legislator Chai Trong-rong (
Chai proposed a motion in the DPP's Central Standing Committee requesting that the party launch a referendum demanding that the KMT return the money it took from the treasury when it ruled Taiwan.
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
The High Court yesterday found a New Taipei City woman guilty of charges related to helping Beijing secure surrender agreements from military service members. Lee Huei-hsin (李慧馨) was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), making illegal compacts with government employees and bribery, the court said. The verdict is final. Lee, the manager of a temple in the city’s Lujhou District (蘆洲), was accused of arranging for eight service members to make surrender pledges to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in exchange for money, the court said. The pledges, which required them to provide identification
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
’DISTORTION’: Beijing’s assertion that the US agreed with its position on Taiwan is a recurring tactic it uses to falsely reinforce its sovereignty claims, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said Chinese state media deliberately distorted Taiwan’s sovereign status, following reports that US President Donald Trump agreed to uphold the “one China” policy in a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). During the more than one-hour-long call, Xi urged Trump to retreat from trade measures that roiled the global economy and cautioned him against threatening steps on Taiwan, a Chinese government summary of the call said. China’s official Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying that the US should handle the Taiwan issue cautiously and avoid the two countries being drawn into dangerous