The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said it is “puzzled by and regrets” former vice president Lien Chan’s (連戰) attendance at China’s massive military parade to mark Japan’s defeat in World War II.
The People First Party (PFP), on the other hand, said that its secretary-general, Chin Ching-sheng (秦金生), who is in Beijing for the commemorations, did not attend the parade — a claim that another attendee challenged.
Despite strong denunciations by many politicians across party lines, Lien attended the Chinese military show of force, along with about 300 other representatives from Taiwan, reports said.
Photo: CNA
KMT spokesperson Yang Wei-chung (楊偉中) reiterated that the war against Japan was led by the Republic of China (ROC) government and that the KMT is “unwavering in upholding democratic values” and the “historical truth about the war.”
The KMT “deeply regrets and is much puzzled by former [KMT] chairman Lien’s attendance at [China’s] military parade, on the same day as the Armed Forces Day of the ROC,” Yang said.
Responding to calls from KMT members — such as Taipei City Councilor Lee Hsin (李新) — for the party to take disciplinary action against Lien, Yang said there are differing opinions within the party about members attending the parade.
Photo: Yen Hung-chun, Taipei Times
“These opinions will be discussed and [the cases involving those members will] be handled in accordance with party mechanisms,” he added.
PFP Deputy Secretary-General Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) said that Chin did not attend the parade.
However, the Chinese-language Apple Daily, citing an anonymous attendee in Beijing, said that Chin had been on the Tiananmen Gate rostrum during the parade.
The source alleged that Chin had climbed up the rostrum with other members of the group, but later excused himself and went to a staff room in the back, saying he did not feel well.
PFP spokesperson Clarence Wu (吳崑玉) denied the allegations, saying Chin “was not on the rostrum” of the Tiananmen Gate.
The Apple Daily report said that a PFP member said Chin had “technically avoided” viewing the military parade, as Chin told PFP headquarters that the invited group had to “act as a whole,” but he left the seat arranged by the Chinese government on a pretext, which should be counted as “absence.”
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Changhua chapter director Chen Chin-ting (陳進丁) filed a lawsuit at the Changhua District Prosecutors’ Office against Lien, accusing him of “civil disturbance” and “treason.”
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS