Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) has declined to meet with Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng (陳光誠), who is to give a speech at the legislature this morning.
Asked yesterday by reporters why the scheduled meeting was canceled, Wang said his schedule today would be “unpredictable” because he has to handle legislative matters.
“Yes, it was canceled, because we all know that the legislature will hold a plenary meeting tomorrow. That will be a critical day in the extra session,” Wang said.
According to a schedule that was announced on June 13 by the Taiwan Association for China Human Rights, which is hosting Chen’s visit, Wang would have 30 minutes to meet with Chen in the legislature before the dissident addresses the legislature at 10am.
The legislature decided on May 24 to have a two-week extra session between June 13 and Thursday. Today will be the last chance for a number of bills to go through second and third readings if the opposition is opposed to holding plenary meetings tomorrow and Thursday.
Wang said he was “not under any pressure” to call off the meeting with Chen.
“I told [the host] about two weeks ago since the legislature decided to hold the extra session that I might have an unpredictable schedule during the session. I told them long before, not yesterday or the day before yesterday [as the media has reported],” Wang said.
Wang said it would be more important for Chen to gain a better understanding and a first-hand experience of democracy in Taiwan than to meet with him.
Wang also serves as president of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, a government-funded institution aimed at supporting courageous individuals and groups devoted to promoting democracy and human rights.
Chen is scheduled to tour the foundation on July 10, but Wang said he would not be able to meet Chen then either.
Wang said that he very much welcomed the visit by Chen and his family, but that he would not be able to meet with him during his 18-day stay.
“No. Now that the meeting has been canceled, his [Chen’s] itinerary during his stay has already been settled,” Wang said.
When Chen visits the foundation, he will be received by its chief executive, Huang Teh-fu (黃德福), Wang said.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
RSS