President-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday rejected President Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) invitation to attend a military exercise to be held by the National Security Council between April 25 and April 27.
The drill, code-named Yushan, is held annually to simulate crisis scenarios.
Ma’s spokesman Luo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said that Ma’s schedule was fully booked for the dates in question and he would not be able to accompany the president. Luo declined to specify what events Ma had scheduled.
Luo said that it was the government’s duty and obligation to hold the drill, regardless of Ma’s attendance.
The Presidential Office yesterday expressed regret that Ma would not attend.
An official from the Presidential Office, who wished to remain anonymous, said it was unfortunate that Ma had declined the invitation because he would miss an opportunity to learn about the operations of the national security system.
The drill will proceed as scheduled, with or without Ma, the official said.
The Presidential Office began power transfer procedures following a meeting between Chen and Ma on April 1 and between Ma’s campaign manager Chan Chun-po (詹春柏) and National Security Council Secretary-General Mark Chen (陳唐山) on April 3, the official said.
The Presidential Office would provide all necessary assistance to the president-elect and vice president-elect, should they have any requests concerning information on national defense, cross-strait relations or foreign affairs, the official said.
Although Ma will not attend the Yushan military drill, the official said, there were other channels available for him to learn about the nation’s national defense, as well as relations with China and other countries.
Meanwhile, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday said she hoped Ma would reconsider the invitation to observe the military drill.
Lu said she proposed at a high-level military meeting that the Yushan drill be rescheduled to accommodate Ma.
Lu said she did not know why Ma would not attend the event, adding that national security was an important matter that required in-depth knowledge.
In related news, Ma yesterday paid a visit to former Control Yuan president Fredrick Chien (錢復), also a former foreign affairs minister, to discuss cross-strait issues and the Control Yuan’s functions.
Ma said that he agreed with Chien that cross-strait relations were key to the nation’s foreign affairs policies and that improving the cross-strait relations would help solve many of the diplomatic difficulties experienced by the government.
“Most of our diplomatic problems come from the other side of the Taiwan Strait. We need to solve these issues from the roots,” Ma said yesterday after the 50-minute meeting with Chien at Taipei Guotai Financial Center.
Commenting on the Control Yuan, Chien urged Ma to find people with virtue and talent to serve as members of the government’s watchdog body.
The seats of the Control Yuan have remained vacant since the term of the previous members expired in January 2005 because of a pan-blue boycott of the president’s nominees.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
AMENDMENT: Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of high-temperature days, affecting economic productivity and public health, experts said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is considering amending the Meteorological Act (氣象法) to classify “high temperatures” as “hazardous weather,” providing a legal basis for work or school closures due to extreme heat. CWA Administrator Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣) yesterday said the agency plans to submit the proposed amendments to the Executive Yuan for review in the fourth quarter this year. The CWA has been monitoring high-temperature trends for an extended period, and the agency contributes scientific data to the recently established High Temperature Response Alliance led by the Ministry of Environment, Lu said. The data include temperature, humidity, radiation intensity and ambient wind,
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist