Former US president Bill Clinton, who arrived last night on a less-than-24 hour visit to Taipei, lauded President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) cross-strait policy over dinner before making a speech on Taiwan’s economic future at the Taiwan International Convention Center.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), who attended the event, arrived about 10 minutes late, and Clinton’s speech began about 15 minutes later than scheduled.
Prior to the event, Clinton, who landed at Taipei’s Songshan Military Airport on a private jet, attended a welcoming banquet hosted by Ma and Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長).
Photo: EPA
Afterward, Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) provided reporters with an overview of the discussion between Clinton and Ma during the vegetarian dinner. Clinton allegedly commended Ma’s cross-strait policies, in particular the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, Yang said.
Ma and Clinton touched on the development of the political scene in East Asia and also discussed Taiwan’s democratic development, he said.
Clinton told Ma he once told former Chinese president Jiang Zemin (江澤民) not to worry about Taiwanese democracy, Yang quoted him as saying.
“He [Clinton] said there are two kinds of pain. One is [a] toothache. If we leave it alone, it may get worse. The other kind is a child’s skin scrape. If we leave them alone, the wounds will heal by themselves,” Yang said.
“The issue of Taiwan is like the scrape. If we leave the scrapes alone, they will recover. The Taiwan issue will be resolved as time goes by,” he quoted Clinton as saying.
A participant of last night’s speech who spoke on condition of anonymity said the conference hall was about three-fourths full, but two-thirds of the 300 VIP seats were empty.
Data from the organizers showed that the prices of the tickets ranged between NT$1,800 and NT$12,000.
Clinton is scheduled to leave Taiwan in this afternoon.
This was Clinton’s sixth visit to Taiwan, his most recent being in 2005.
At press time, Clinton’s speech was ongoing.
See Clinton on page 2
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique