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
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
RSS