Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday accused his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) counterpart, Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), of colluding with Chinese leaders over the holding of a referendum on UN membership.
"Ma made promises to Chinese leaders when he was the KMT chairman," Hsieh said. "They most likely included carrying out the promises made by former KMT chairman Lien Chan [
NO EVIDENCE
Hsieh did not provide any evidence to substantiate his claims.
Hsieh made the remarks in Taichung City yesterday morning in response to a press report about Beijing's concern over the KMT's proposed referendum on UN membership.
Hsieh was in Taichung visiting a technology company in an industrial park.
He said it was important to maintain Taiwan-centered consciousness because this was the key to ensuring the safety of China-based Taiwanese businesspeople.
Taking the recent Shin Kong Group commercial dispute as an example, Hsieh said that the group leader returned to Taiwan when he encountered difficulty.
"Where would he go if Taiwan did not exist?" Hsieh asked.
Hsieh was referring to an incident in which Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store general manager Steven Wu (吳昕達), who leads a group of Taiwanese staff operating Shin Kong Place in Beijing, was reportedly prevented from leaving China by Beijing authorities just before he was scheduled to return to Taiwan for a conference.
As Taiwan has a sound economic environment, Hsieh said that the government must team up with the private sector to map out a strategy to keep research and development (R&D) in Taiwan, while relocating manufacturing and sales to China.
R&D
Emphasizing that research and development is pivotal to Taiwan's economic development, Hsieh said that the government's goal is to boost R&D to 3 percent of gross national product. He will make an effort to boost R&D growth by 15 percent if elected president, he said.
Meanwhile, Ma said yesterday he was determined to push for the country's "return" to the UN amid speculation that China sent him a letter expressing its dissatisfaction with the referendum proposal.
"I've never heard of [the letter]. Neither do I feel any pressure [over the referendum]," Ma said when approached by reporters for comment.
Asked whether he had misgivings about China's opposition to the KMT's referendum bid, Ma said: "No, absolutely not."
As China had made its stance on the referendum issue known to the public, there was no need for it to convey its opinions through other channels, Ma said.
A report in the Chinese-language China Times yesterday said Ting Yuan-chao (
The report said Chinese officials responsible for Taiwanese affairs had decided the referendum was "inappropriate."
Ting was unavailable for comment yesterday, while KMT leaders denied the letter existed.
KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yih (
"The KMT is pushing for the country's return to the UN. This will not change because of Chinese pressure," Wu said.
Wu said the party would go ahead with its plans to stage a rally in Taichung on Saturday to attract support for the party's referendum proposal.
The KMT's proposal aims to counter one submitted by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which suggests the nation apply for UN membership under the name "Taiwan."
Meanwhile, dozens of protesters yesterday burned and trampled the Stars and Stripes outside an American Institute in Taiwan office, reports said, after senior White House official Dennis Wilder last week said Taiwan was not a state.
A crowd chanting slogans set fire to the US flag outside the building in Kaohsiung and unfurled protest banners, including one that read, "Oppose US bullying of Taiwan," television pictures showed.
Police then moved in to douse the flames but there were no reports of arrests or injuries from the incident.
Additional reporting by AFP
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
RSS