President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration condemned North Korea’s latest nuclear test yesterday.
The test drew severe condemnations from the international community, with both the South Korean and Japanese governments holding security meetings immediately afterward to formulate countermeasures.
In Taipei the government did not take any action until 3:25pm, when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement denouncing the test and repeating calls by the international community for North Korea to forsake its nuclear ambitions.
“The Republic of China [ROC] government strongly condemns North Korea’s spate of recent provocative acts by launching a satellite and carrying out nuclear weapons tests … we solemnly urge North Korea to abide by concerned UN Security Council resolutions and refrain from acts that could jeopardize regional security, for the sake of peace, stability and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula as well as in the East Asian region,” the statement said.
While Executive Yuan spokesperson Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) said that Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) had been aware of North Korea’s plan to conduct a nuclear test, and that the foreign ministry and the Ministry of National Defense had mapped out countermeasures, the government’s slow response to the test caused a storm of criticism from netizens.
Some netizens said the Ma administration was indulging in Lunar New Year festivities when neighboring countries were busy thinking up countermeasures, while others urged the government to take substantial measures rather than simply issuing a denunciation.
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) posted a message on his Facebook page urging the administration not to let down its guard just because North Korea’s latest nuclear test came during a holiday period.
The government should pay close attention to the evolving situation and cooperate with neighboring counties to maintain stability and prosperity in the region, Su said.
The nuclear test can do nothing to help North Korea develop its country and can only deepen the international community’s distrust of its regime, Su said.
He said that the incident highlighted the importance of his recent initiative that countries in the region which share common values should form a “democratic alliance” to strengthen cooperation with each other.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2