Amid speculation that Beijing would object to the presence of former vice premier Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) as Taiwan's representative to the APEC leaders' summit in Sydney, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday that China's suppression of Taiwan goes beyond matters of political affiliation or gender.
"China's oppression has been constant and it has nothing to do with who is in power or what political party you belong to," Chen said. "If [Beijing's opposition to Tsai's participation at the APEC summit] is true, it would demonstrate that its suppression of the country does not have anything to do with whether you are a man or a woman."
Chen made the remarks in Shezi (社子), Taipei City, yesterday afternoon in response to a report published in yesterday's edition of the Chinese-language China Times.
The report said that Chen was considering naming someone else after Beijing had objected to Tsai's appointment as the nation's special envoy to the APEC leaders' summit next month.
Chen did not confirm whether he had appointed Tsai but said the country must not give up simply because of oppression from China. He also urged the government to stick to principles and strive for acceptance.
Acting Presidential Office Secretary-General Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said Chen was still assessing various options and would name a representative in accordance with the original schedule, preferably before Chen embarks on a journey to Central America on Aug. 20.
Taiwanese presidents have been barred from attending APEC summits because of objections from China. As a result, the president has to appoint a representative to go on his behalf.
Pan-blue camp lawmakers yesterday blamed Chen's proposed referendum on the country's UN bid under the name of "Taiwan" as the reason behind Beijing's opposition.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Tseng Yung-chuan (
"Beijing's reaction does not come as a surprise because the UN bid irked the US and China," Tseng said, adding that he was nevertheless disappointed with the boycott.
People First Party spokesman Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) also blamed Chen, saying that his "improper handling" of the country's bid to join the UN was the cause of Beijing's action.
Lee also slammed China for boycotting Tsai's participation at the summit.
"As the Chinese and Taiwanese economies are closely related, the two sides should talk and help each other," he said. "China will not gain anything by oppressing Taiwan."
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
CHIP WAR: The new restrictions are expected to cut off China’s access to Taiwan’s technologies, materials and equipment essential to building AI semiconductors Taiwan has blacklisted Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯), dealing another major blow to the two companies spearheading China’s efforts to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) chip technologies. The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ International Trade Administration has included Huawei, SMIC and several of their subsidiaries in an update of its so-called strategic high-tech commodities entity list, the latest version on its Web site showed on Saturday. It did not publicly announce the change. Other entities on the list include organizations such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda, as well as companies in China, Iran and elsewhere. Local companies need
CRITICISM: It is generally accepted that the Straits Forum is a CCP ‘united front’ platform, and anyone attending should maintain Taiwan’s dignity, the council said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it deeply regrets that former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) echoed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “one China” principle and “united front” tactics by telling the Straits Forum that Taiwanese yearn for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to move toward “peace” and “integration.” The 17th annual Straits Forum yesterday opened in Xiamen, China, and while the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) local government heads were absent for the first time in 17 years, Ma attended the forum as “former KMT chairperson” and met with Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧). Wang
CROSS-STRAIT: The MAC said it barred the Chinese officials from attending an event, because they failed to provide guarantees that Taiwan would be treated with respect The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Friday night defended its decision to bar Chinese officials and tourism representatives from attending a tourism event in Taipei next month, citing the unsafe conditions for Taiwanese in China. The Taipei International Summer Travel Expo, organized by the Taiwan Tourism Exchange Association, is to run from July 18 to 21. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) on Friday said that representatives from China’s travel industry were excluded from the expo. The Democratic Progressive Party government is obstructing cross-strait tourism exchange in a vain attempt to ignore the mainstream support for peaceful development
DEFENSE: The US would assist Taiwan in developing a new command and control system, and it would be based on the US-made Link-22, a senior official said The Ministry of National Defense is to propose a special budget to replace the military’s currently fielded command and control system, bolster defensive resilience and acquire more attack drones, a senior defense official said yesterday. The budget would be presented to the legislature in August, the source said on condition of anonymity. Taiwan’s decade-old Syun An (迅安, “Swift Security”) command and control system is a derivative of Lockheed Martin’s Link-16 developed under Washington’s auspices, they said. The Syun An system is difficult to operate, increasingly obsolete and has unresolved problems related to integrating disparate tactical data across the three branches of the military,
RSS